July 4th

We had such a terrific 4th! We just hung around the house, swam, cooked out, and just had fun together. It was wonderful!

We got up and Jeff went out to get a new grill that he's been wanting. When he got back home, he put it together while the girls played on the swingset. I rigged up the hose for them to make a water slide and we put an inflatable pool at the bottom. They had a blast! I know they'll be asking to do it again and again! Maryella wasn't too sure about it at first, but ended up loving it too! Elianna enjoyed her bouncy under the beach umbrella with a little fan. At some point, Jeff finished putting together his grill and got some ribs cooking. Mmmmm. Dinner was looking good!

After that, we went inside and ate lunch and then we celebrated my birthday. Jeff had already given me a beautiful necklace with each of the girls' birthstones on it last week. But he had even more surprises up his sleeve. I got two new Willow Tree figurines - an angel holding a star and a mother holding a baby. I also got the Nintendo DS game, Brain Age to play on the girls' DS games. I've been wanting that forever! I got a brain age of only 2 years older than I really am. Apparently the optimum brain age is 20, though. I've got some work to do!

After cake and ice cream, it was nap time. I love that time of day! All was quiet for a few hours, then we let everyone get up and put swimsuits back on to go play in the "big pool". The water was still cold, but not as bad as it used to be. It was 80 degrees. Even Elianna enjoyed it this time. When they all first got up and put on their suits, Maryella had us all in stitches at the way she got herself dressed. I can't even describe it, just see for yourself! And you can't tell from the picture, but she even had her panties on underneath still. That was the only way I was able to convince her to change - to take the panties off and then put the suit back on the right way.

Once we were all swimmed out, the ribs were ready and we sat down to a very delicious supper of BBQ ribs, grilled corn on the cob, mac and cheese and watermelon. My mouth is watering just remembering it! Yum! The watermelon gave me the idea of showing the girls how to make watermelon teeth. If you've never done this - try it sometime! Just be ready to laugh until you cry! It was hilarious! I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves. My teeth broke and I ending up looking like a hillbilly in need of a good dentist, lol!


I hope everyone else had a fabulous 4th of July too!