4th of July 2011

I figured it was about time that I posted about our 4th of July this year... only a week late, not too bad! :)

We endured the heat of the Grandville parade this year, and even this preggo mama put up with it! I, of course, took advantage of my situation and managed to get a few extra freeze pops thrown my way! :)

Kaden loved every minute of the parade. He stood at the edge of the road with the rest of the kids, genuinely curious about everything that came by, and of course loved collecting all of that candy!

After the parade we spent time with friends at Sandy Pines enjoying the water and just hanging out. We decided not to do fireworks this year because Kaden was a bit apprehensive about the "tester" ones done in the neighborhood. We got our own usual firework show from our deck- since it's high up we can see several towns in the distance, and our neighbors in the cul-de-sac behind our house also did a complete firework show. I can't believe that people actually waste so much of their money on fireworks!! The fireworks were great for awhile, but got annoying when they lasted until midnight and kept waking up my child. Hopefully we don't have to deal with them for another year!

Waiting for the parade to start

Posing for a picture with his buddy Carley

Watching the parade with Daddy

Going down the slide with Daddy at Sandy Pines- this was right before both of them went completely underwater!

Waiting in line for his turn to go down the slide. He could have done this all afternoon if we let him!

Kaden has become quite the water rat. He's really started to enjoy swimming, and the puddle jumper is seriously a lifesaver. The best invention EVER!! Swimming lessons over the past couple of weeks has also helped make him more independent in the water, which is great!

Oh yeah. That's me at 24 weeks pregnant. Wonderful, huh?

By far the cutest kid at the splash pad that day.

Andy and the kiddos- love them.