4th of July

Happiest Patriot

Saddest Patriot

Tiniest Patriot

Furriest (and most frightened) Patriot

My goodness, does this girl like to pose, or what?

So stinking cute!

Love that smile!

Hooray for fireworks!!!

These cousins love eachother!

Berkeley was being a "puppy" and trying to console a very drugged Jake!

Happy Boy

Laura & Cohen

Berkeley & Riah loved their hats

Have I mentioned how stinking cute he is? He looked like a little jail bird in his stripes!

No more tears...cup cakes make everything better!

Timmy paused for half a second to smile for me!

I'm not sure who this little girl is, but at one point we found her in our toy room so Berkeley took a liking to her and held her hand for some fireworks in the cul-de-sac!

We did something different this year for the 4th and stayed home to have a neighborhood party in our cul-de-sac! Tom borrowed his dad's smoker and started some brisket at 8:00am. He had every dog and man in the vicinity drooling in our driveway by noon. Some of the bigger kids set off fireworks while the parents of those kids prayed against burned limbs and severed appendages. At one point Berkeley tugged on my leg and said "Mommy, this is the funnest party EVER!"

When it got pretty dark we all went up on our deck and watched the fireworks from all over the valley. It was spectacular. We could see the shows from a few of the lakes in the area which was awesome. I think the best part about it was the fact that we didn't have to put tired kids in the car and make the trip home. There's something to be said for that!

Cohen was a trooper for his first 4th. He slept through some of the fireworks and then smiled and flirted with everyone while he was awake. It's hard to believe a year ago Chris & Laura were at home making some fireworks of their own and today they have their own little "sparkler." Berkeley was devastated when Cohen went home. She loves to feed him and can't wait to give him his first chicken nugget someday!

This morning when she woke up, Berkeley came into my room and said "Mommy, why is the 4th of July over?" I told her that we celebrate how special our country is only one day a year, but that we'd for sure do it again next year. She replied very matter of factly, "Oh, well that was totally fun." I agree darling girl, I agree.