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?