Party in the USA

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!

We've been going and going and going... I'm ready to blog just for an excuse to sit down a minute! Lucky little you. ;)

Poor Ty had to work alllll weekend. Except for this morning. So, instead of moping around and hopelessly pining away for him, we decided to load the car and head to a little known haven called... LOS ANGLES.

Evidently we weren't the only ones with that idea... erhm. It took FOUR HOURS to get out of LA on the way home. Those were some dark, dark, dark, dark hours people. Not pretty at all.

Peed in some strange places.

Cried real tears when the technology ran out of battery.

There was yelling and hair pulling... I'm not telling if it was the kids or me.

But we made it. And it was SO worth it to spend a few hours with some of my most favorite faces!






Carly and Dave were visiting for literally 5 minutes. We got at least a good 2 of those 5 minutes, it was a treat! There was a wedding Carly was part of, and Ann and Joe were also attending. The next day (Saturday) we rolled in to town around lunch time, and they braved the blazing hot and unfamiliar freeways to come meet us for an afternoon in the shade at KJs pool. KJ got off work shortly after and we all swam and ate and had a grand old time, until we were STARVING and Jessica got off work and met us for a delish family dinner.


The only complaint of the entire weekend (besides... wait, did I already mention the traffic? ;)...) was not having Ty there to enjoy it with. But there was still a LOT of giving on every one's part to make the afternoon of bliss happen and it was so fun and I'd ~probably~ do it all again.

But without the traffic. That I barely even noticed.

Ahem.

Anyways. With all that TRAFFIC that took us FOUR HOURS to get thru before the real drive could EVEN START... we had a sweet little MUCH NEEDED pit stop in Santa Barbara with Auntie Marlene who fed and hydrated us, washed my filthy daughter's stinky little feet, and showed us to her neighborhood playground where the kids blew off GOBS OF ENERGY PREVIOUSLY CONTAINED IN THE SHRINKING CONFINES OF THE BLISTERING HOT CAR. IN LA TRAFFIC. Traffic sucks. Heh. I think I'm done now. Maybe.

Needless to say, with all the adventure we packed in to the weekend we got home super late and our 4Th of July plans included a bright-n-early 5k that involved driving out to the middle of the wilderness (where only escaped convicts and the witch from Hansel and Gretel call home) to run 3 miles in the sweltering heat. Do we know how to have a good time, or WHAT?!?!


No, but seriously, it was a really really good time.

Anabelle was the cheerleader this time around. Which was probably a good call, since she stayed at the finish line with a good friend who reported that she couldn't even bring herself to STAND in the sun and wait for us to cross. Ha. Disaster adverted. ;) Score one point for team parents.

Dawson was quite a contender...


He finished under 40minutes and placed THIRD in his age group. WHATS UPPPPPPP!?!?!?!? I am so proud I could explode. He won some pretty cool stuff... a nIcE Asics duffel bag that he already determined he can fit all the way inside of and zip the zipper... an ExCeLLeNt quality in a duffel bag... er... so Im told...



He also won these awesome sunglasses. I ~might~ be borrowing them. Pretty often. Or we can call them 'thanks for the awesome first race, Mama!' ;) Juuuuust kidding... probably.




I also set a personal record despite the presence of my EVIL arch enemy... HOT WEATHER. Its literally kryptonite to my Clark Kent. I was shocked I did so well for myself, but ILL TAKE IT! After the race there was a tasty breakfast and lots of other cool prizes. We left with some fun loot. Its a cool tradition. Or a hot tradition. You know what I mean.

We stopped by Grammies on the way home to cool off...



Man, are we bonafide country folk or WHAT!?!

If the boot fits... ;)

Grammie does a really great job giving any holiday or occasion a festive flare... our country's birthday was no exception.



There are more pictures of the food spread because I'm one of those weirdos who likes food por... I mean pictures... But my computer is being lame so maybe if I get ambitious later Ill upload them. Don't wait by your laptop tho.

By the end of the festivities we were SOO TIRED we came crawling home and everyone took naps before Ty had to work. Hallelujah (sang the heavenly hosts)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a great weekend, and I am so so so thankful for safety on the road as we passed so many horrible accidents and stranded travelers... and also, for what its worth, I am thankful to be an American despite our country's quirks and imperfections. My children drink clean water and pray to our God any time and any where they want, America is BEAUTIFUL, and there are men and women willing to die to protect our countless freedoms and allow us sleep each night.

Hope everyone had a hot dog and a beer, and managed to find some sparks in their day somehow.

xo