a photo journal

Made an impromptu decision to practice last night, so I tied the kids up and hauled them out to Nana and Papaw's. I should have gagged them too, with all the complaining I heard. Kidding! Actually, they did pretty well and gave me some good shots. I LOVE some of these and others I'm still deciding. Which get your thumbs up and thumbs down?

country road, take me home

Or in Sophia's case, the song should be "Country road, take me to Nana's."
Apparently Nana is paying more than minimum wage, and by the second day on the job, Sophia had enough for the bike.

The bike with pretty pink butterflies.


The bike with handbrakes.


The bike that's so cool she rides it everywhere.


And this is for my Air Force veteran sweetie whose birthday is today. I love you, Honey!

what a beautiful blast!

Our 4th of July was a blast!


Actually, our 5th of July was a blast! Our 4th of July was...

cold, cloudy, and that fireworks show left us less than impressed.

This was the neatest thing that night...

Sparklers and a long shutter speed...what a great combo!

The next day, the 5th of July, was our city's parade and fireworks show, and with beautiful weather and lots of candy!

Aren't floats supposed to, um, float? That's okay. In 7 years of going to this parade, this has been the closest thing to parade material they've ever had.


He was new too...


As long as candy is thrown, it's the best parade ever, as far as my kids are concerned.


They made sure they picked up every....last....piece.



Then we watched a great fireworks show that evening. Papaw met us there, but Nana had to wash her hair. I almost missed it too, because as soon as we got there, fought the crowds, found 2 parking spots, and started to get settled in, I realized I left my camera at home!

Despite better judgement, I decided to try to run home to get it. As I was driving home I realized how nuts I was and I'd never make it back through those crowds to my spot, but I did, with 5 minutes to spare! And of course, after the fact, I was so glad I got my camera!