Monday, July 7, 2014

The 4th in Photos

It's hard to believe that the 4th of July has come and gone!  The 4th always felt like the middle of summer for me when I was a kid since we went back to school in mid-August usually but I know that I need to adjust my thinking now that I am an adult since summer technically lasts until late September! 

It was great to spend the 4th up at my parents' lake home.  There's just nothing like being on the water with family around the 4th of July holiday!  I drove up on Friday morning and got there around 10 am and of course the first thing I did was pick up this little cutie.  You can't see much of her outfit but Evelyn is also wearing stripes!


She liked me a lot better this weekend compared to the first weekend I saw her when she mostly cried when I held her.  #auntfail
I helped out with a couple of things in the kitchen and then headed outdoors where this little guy kept me company for awhile.  Charlie turned 3 in May and his personality is REALLY starting to come out.  He is really funny and I just adore his curly red hair!


I feel like I barely saw my nephews Andrew and Matthew as they were running around, playing with the other 'big kids' but they did slow down a bit to take a picture for their aunt.  I'm looking forward got some one-on-one time with them next weekend as I am taking them on an aunt date on Sunday afternoon!


I tried to get a good picture of my dad with Evelyn, but there was no way she was going to smile on command. 

I'm noticing a pattern as last time I saw her, she wouldn't smile when I tried to take a picture of her with my dad!  Oh and how random is it that my dad is wearing the same shirt?


Around 1:30, my dad's siblings, their kids and their kids' kids started to arrive.  I think we had about 40 people there so it was quite a big group!!  I got to see quite a few cousins and all my dad's siblings, including his sister and brother-in-law that live in California.  It was fun to see how well the kids of all of my cousins played together. 

Charlie has a hand-me-down 4-wheeler that he loves to drive around. I was surprised that the other kids were content to get rides and didn't insist on driving it themselves.
My SIL planned an art project for the kids which turned out really cute.  But let me tell you, taking a photo of 15 kids under the age of 10 is really really hard!  But here they all are!


The adults had their own entertainment in the form of a bean bag tournament.  And get this - my team won!!  I am very unathletic but I guess bean bag toss is the one game I am fairly good at. 

On Saturday morning, I got up before most of the family was awake and went for an 8 mile run which wasn't very pleasant.  It was hot, and there wasn't much shade and I ran into the wind for about 2 miles towards the end of the run.  But at least I got the miles in.  I am glad that I do most of my long runs with a group!  It was a peaceful morning when I got back to the cabin.  I just love mornings at the lake.


Saturday was a quieter day at my parents' as it was just my mom, dad, grandma and I.  I played 3 games of Scrabble with my grandma and beat her once which is a BIG deal because I have never beat her before.  She is 91, but you wouldn't know it.  I failed to get a picture of her this weekend which I am bummed about!

On Sunday morning I got up and fit a shred workout in before everyone else was up.  Evelyn was all smiles when she woke up!


After church, we relaxed outside for awhile and I had my favorite summer drink - rhubarb slush.  I love this drink so much!  





Before I headed back home, I tried to work with Charlie on saying his ABCs but he was in a silly mood and wanted to skip some letters and improvise on the alphabet song.  What can I say, the kid is certainly entertaining!


And there you have it - another fun weekend at the lake!  I hope everyone else had a safe and fun 4th of July!

If you are American, how did you celebrate the 4th of July?  For my non-American readers, what did you do this weekend?

18 comments:

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Oh my goodness, Evelyn is SO cute. I hope she and Max can meet some day :)

I can't believe all the kids! So different than my family where Max is the only kid.

Also funny that you thought the 4th was mid summer. We go back in Sept so it's beginning of summer for us!

Charis Faith said...

So glad you were able to be with your family for the 4th! I love all the pictures!!!

Marlys said...

Fun recap of the weekend! You got more pictures than I did, which I always regret! It was a great weekend and always good to have family together! I didn't take a picture of Grandma this weekend, either! We should have taken one with all the family with Laurie home!

Caroline said...

So many kiddos! Love Charlies curly red hair!! Sounds like a lovely weekend : )

Leigh said...

Sounds like a great weekend with your family! Plus, you can't beat being near the water :)

Stephany said...

Whew - and I thought I had a big family get-together, haha. So many kids!!

It must be so special to have this lake house to celebrate holidays at. So fun!

Anonymous said...

Your family sure does make some cute kids! I'm glad that you had such a great weekend. I would love to have a lake house. Actually I want a shore house which is weird because the lake IS better than the ocean ;)

Nora said...

You have an adorable family! We spent the 4th poolside, lots of food, friends, family and then capped it off by seeing fireworks. The girls made it through the fireworks (they loved the ones that made smiley faces!) and then passed out on the way home. Saturday was a recovery day for all of us (even though I didn't drink a drop on Friday I felt incredibly exhausted, so much so that I took a 2 hour nap).

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

Sounds like a good weekend! We went out on the lake, fireworks from our road, pool day in our backyard and a relaxing day!

missris said...

I keep reminding myself that summer lasts until the end of September. I feel like I have so many things I still want to do before the weather turns cold again!

Emilie said...

Little Evelyn is such a cutie! All of your nieces, nephews and cousins are adorable. What a fun weekend to be surrounded by so many little ones! There are no babies in my family right now. My generation hasn't quite started having kids yet...I can't wait for the day when there are that many little ones running around at family events :)

Amber said...

I always think of July as halfway through summer too because with both ERic or myself in school for the last 8 years summer = May - August in my mind!

Glad you had such a wonderful holiday weekend and got to spend time with so many family members!

Abby said...

Thank you for this recap! It is so fun for Ryan and I to see pictures of all the nieces and nephews! My goodness they are growing so fast!!!

Looks like a perfect weekend!!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

It's so fun to see all of your little nieces and nephews growing up! I really love the first photo of you and your niece in the matching stripes! Vive la France!

We used to get out of school in mid June, so July 4th was closer to the beginning than the end. Of course, when we were kids, the summers went by SO FAST! Now they are just another season (which I like) so it does not speed by as fast. However, today I noticed that it was already dark in the morning when I am getting up and I swear a couple of weeks ago it was light! I am not looking forward to the darkness, that is for sure, so I hope summer lasts as long as possible!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Happy belated 4th of July!! I had a friend's wedding, and a baby shower this past weekend. It was fun!

Cherry Blossoms said...

love the kids in their t-shirts! What a fun idea and I can't believe how big all the nieces and nephews are getting.

Shoshanah said...

It looks like you all had such a fun and relaxing time! I really do think there's something a bit magical about being near the water, but maybe that's the California coming out in me. And I love all the kids matching shirts!

Jeanie said...

There is NOTHING like the lake -- unless it is being with family AT the lake! Sounds absolutely beautiful! What a handsome/cute family you have!