Fourth of July Weekend

Let me begin by acknowledging the fact that I haven't blogged in months... Im lame, whatever. Also this is going to be long with a major picture overload. Sorry in advance.

This weekend was one for the books. Chase's parents drove up from Arizona and oh, did we do a lot while they were here!

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from the 3rd... But we went to a golf course where they had tons of booths with food, popcorn, face painting and anything else you could think of. Then everyone spread blankets out and kids slid down the hills and played catch while we waited for the sun to go down. It was incredible how many people were there! At 10:30 the fireworks show started. It was the coolest thing because the fireworks were literally right above us filling the entire sky! But because it was so late Elsie was falling asleep and didn't get to fully enjoy the experience. It will definitely be something we look forward to for next year!

For the fourth we went up to Hyrum to see Chase's uncle and family. Chase's grandparents were also up there visiting from Az so it was nice to see them too. We spent the afternoon and evening out on the front porch enjoying the beautiful day. The kids rode bikes and skateboards, caught butterflies, and played on the swings. Since it doesn't get dark till about 10 up here in Utah, we lit off some small fireworks for the kiddos around 7. Elsie loved the colors and was just giddy over all the excitement. And of course her cute dress was made by her Nana.

On our drive home from that night, fireworks filled the entire sky. As we drove down the freeway they were everywhere we looked! You could see at least 10 different shows the entire hour and a half drive. It was awesome and such a perfect ending to our day.

The rest of the weekend was spent swimming, eating great food, lighting off the rest of our fireworks, and making our yard beautiful. Chase's parents, as well as grandma, grandpa and uncle who came down from Hyrum, helped to clean up our yard. All the beauty of spring had died off and this was our first summer here and we weren't exactly sure what plants to cut down, what flowers to plant, or even the best mulch to buy! So they all took charge and showed us what we needed to do. It turned into quite a long day of work and I am so grateful for all of their willingness to help get our yard looking more beautiful than ever!

Sunday we were also able to see Grandma and Grandpa Thompson as well as Chase's aunt and uncle who live in California. They came over and went to church with us which was so nice! And Chase's mom bought Elsie the cutest dress so we had to get some pictures at the park in front of the church.

This morning everyone left and Elsie was so so sad. It was a very busy, crazy, fun weekend and I am so glad we got to share it with people we love. Thanks Nana and Bompa!!