Independence Day

I love summer holidays, even when they are so busy and hectic that you end up needing a vacation from your vacation! We had a great four-day weekend this year, since Brett took the Friday before off work. We spent most of that day and most of Saturday at Mom & Dad's house, getting the boat ready to play. We also got to go to Hallie's baptism on Saturday, which is always fun for the kids. Kylee is starting to get excited for her eighth birthday!

Saturday after the boat was finally done (THANKS DAD for all your help!) we were all smoking hot, so we decided to take it in to Jensen's Grove for a quick test drive/cool down. It was nice to get my weekend sunburn over the course of a couple days, instead of all at once. ;-)

Monday was the craziest day of all. We got up early to get some breakfast before hitting the parade here in IF. I love the parade even more as a mom than I did as a kid.  I love watching the excitement in my kids' eyes over crazy floats, candy, and seeing their babysitters walking in the parade. So much fun!

After the parade was done we hurried home to change and hook up to the boat. We hauled it down the road to Blacktail (seriously, could we be any luckier to have such a great spot just up the road?) where Mom and Dad were waiting with a great spot. Amy and Jake came with their kids after having spent the night in Island Park, and Sean and Diana brought their family too.

Our kiddos are getting more and more brave on the boat, and both Kylee and Aedan spent some time in the tube with their cousins. Kylee rode with Hallie, so she even got a bit more crazy ride than last year so Hallie wouldn't be bored, and she loved it! Aedan got to ride with both Sayer and Dewey (at different times!) so he was excited to be with his cousins. And Brianna spent most of the time hanging out in the shade with Grandpa.

We had a ton of fun hanging out with family. TONS of pictures (um, do you know me?) but just a few here. If you want to see more pics with the rest of the family, go here.

After a long day in the sun and water, we came home to unload and chill for awhile before fireworks. Brianna went to sleep when we got home and didn't get up again all night, so Brett stayed home while the kids and I went to see the show. If you want to see any of the photos I got of the fireworks, go here.