family + friends + food = fantastic 4th

happy 4th of july!

we had quite the busy weekend, but it was so much fun! i know it is said all the time, but we truly are so blessed to live in america... the land of the free and the home of the brave. god is so good to us. i'm thankful for our freedom in this world, as well as from sin and bondage! we made several visits to friends we don't see as much as we'd like and we also spent lots of time with family that we see all the time, but we still have a blast when we're together! and nate even managed to get a lot of stuff done at the house ((hung a ceiling fan, cut grass, fixed the ballast (i always thought it was balance, or valance. WHO KNEW!) in the light in the kitchen!)) anyways, i wish every week had a 3 day weekend. i'd be such the happy camper! :) we had a fantastic fourth, and we actually celebrated it the 2nd through the 5th! we decided to make the 4th a 4 day long holiday! ha. i will try and let the pics do the talking... since there's quite a few of them! the boys, nate, and i were all so patriotical (yes i know that's not a word but i like the way it sounds!) sunday. i can't believe i didn't get a pic made of us in our cute outfits. so here is the ONLY one i have of the kids not in their swimsuits. ha! (they were riding the rockin' horse at meme's)

friday night we grilled out and had fun at bobby's house. the kids haven't played in a while and it was hilarious watching them together. maddie and lucas are gonna date in a few years. shhhh, don't tell anyone! and jayzk and trace had a blast. sorry, no pics of them! but it's crazy how much j has grown. he just turned 7. wow. trace followed him around all night like he was 7 too! :) lindsay was there too... it was just a good way to catch up, relax, and kick off the long weekend!

saturday morning we slept LATE, 8:30 for me and lucas, and 9:15 for nate and trace! it was GLORIOUS!!! then i headed to shannon's with the kids... where we met ra and her kids and all the cousins had a blast on the huge waterslide! we stayed for a few hours and played so hard. we wore those kids out! this is one of my favs from the day. all six, in order... caden, kenley, trace, lala, lucas, and mason. ages 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, and 1. wow.


josh took most of these pics, i edited them some. this one below is one of my favs too!!!!

and this one :) ok. ya'll know i have lots of favs!

all 6 monkeys!

mama and her sweet boys

so handsome these two are!

when i say we wore those kids out... i mean it! we went home and mine slept for 3 1/2 hours. i got to layout some and work on my tan a little more while they napped! i also read some, and listened to zac brown band. they are awesome, btw! shout out to kris for introducing me to them... great summertime music!

we took the waterslide to meme's on sunday for some more fun after church! the kids never got tired of it! lucas and lala enjoyed the popsicle break!

the kids played. adults ate. and jacked the pool when the kids napped. haha! after meme's, since we were in moody, we decided to stop by and see rob and amy. it's been a while so it was great to see them. jack is so big, can't believe he will be 3 next month! the boys played football, basketball, puzzles, trucks... you name it- they played it. and rob cleaned behind them the whole time! ocd much? j/k... love ya rob!

and the last day of our 4 day holiday (monday), we went all the way to columbiana to visit with loni and jake... my bff and her hub who are moving to HAWAII. (yesssss i said hawaii!!!!) at the end of the month. they both found jobs on the island of kauaii and i am so sad that they are moving. i am very happy for them though, and can't wait to go visit. they don't have kids yet, so i always tell her have fun while she can. hahahaha! i better get a piggy bank now and start saving my money tho. b/c even though i have a free place to stay when i go, i've heard the airfare isn't cheap!

loni and i have been bff forever! seriously... since like 2nd grade. we were very close growing up and all through school then in high school she changed schools. but we still remained bf. since then, she has lived in springville, montevallo, mississippi, columbiana, and now she's moving to hawaii. but i know we will still be as close then as we are now. we have always kept in touch and been there for each other no matter what. good times and bad times. fat times and skinny times. ha! :) i really am happy for her and jake and i know that they will be just as successful over on the island as they are here. for now, i will gloat and hold it over her that i have a better tan than she does! ha. hey, what are best friends for, right? ~aloha my friend! ~

later monday nite... nate and i went to a friend's house and watched the bachelorette... i love that show! and nate said he wasn't gonna watch it, but he started watching when all the drama got going (which is pretty much the 2nd show. ha!) and now he loves it as much as i do! we had fun with friends and will def have another get together for the big finale in a few weeks! yes i know, it's trash tv. and i'm pretty sure 90% if not all of it is staged. but can i just say i hope ali finds love and happiness in the end? she deserves that, i think! team roberto baby! :)

ok so i think that covers our long weekend. whew, did anyone hang in there til the end? if you did, just leave me a comment with your bank account info and i'll borrow wire a dollar. bahaha. just kidding. but a comment would be nice every now and then. or you could just continue to stalk my blog. whatever you like! :)