Happy Fourth of July!

We have had a great weekend celebrating the 4th! Last night we went to our friends the Gryseel's house to cook-out and watch fireworks with a bunch of our church family. Laurie and Tony have this party on their driveway every year and we think it is such a fun tradition! They live very close to where the LJ fireworks are shot off, and we actually had pieces of the fireworks falling all around and on us during the show!

Kendall had so much fun all night. Her friends Jillian and Sarah were there and we attempted to take some pictures of the three of them in the wagon. You can guess how that turned out...

We know the magic trick now....fruit snacks!

Laurie set up some slip-n-slides in the backyard, along with some baby pools. Randy and some of the other guys tried skim boarding. They had a lot of fun.

I wanted to take a family picture, but Randy was too busy playing to stop. Here's the best we got:

Kendall went for a swim with Dad in her new A&M swimsuit. So cute!

Back out on the driveway after her swim. She loved playing in this car, drawing with the sidewalk chalk, and moving the chairs around the driveway and then sitting in them. I love this picture - it really describes how she felt by the end of the night: hot and tired!

We didn't know how she would do with the fireworks, especially with them being so close. Last year she was in the house when they were going off, and we were already home, so we weren't as close to the action. I was fully prepared to have to run inside with her when they started if they were too loud and scared her, but we were very suprised to see that she didn't mind them at all! It was a great show and went on for quite awhile, and she went back and forth between Randy and me just watching, pointing, and clapping. They were SO loud, and the stuff was falling on us, but she was fine! What a brave girl we have!

Finally, we wanted to show off the gift Randy got last night. Our friends the Genres always make homemade ice cream and fudge sauce to bring to Laurie and Tony's on the 4th. Last year Randy had it for the first time and loved it! He has been going on and on about it all year, very much anticipating getting to eat it again last night. Well, Melissa and Paul showed up with Randy's very own 1/2 gallon and jar of sauce! They even labeled it especially for him - check out the name! Thanks Paul and Melissa! You guys are awesome!