three days to partay ...

4th of July fell on a Sunday this year. Why are Sunday holidays so awkward. Really .. what that meant here was that we celebrated for three stinkin' days.

Won't complain about that. At all.

We spent Sat on Brett and Ally's boat. Well .. Eli and I did. Jackson and Hayley had other plans.

He really is happy ... really ... seriously he had a good time. Although by the picture you would think I was torturing him. And yes, he obviously needed his beanie on the boat. Can get chilly you know!

Sat night we went to Ally's house for a cookout. The Nordgrans, the other Fords and the Brackney's were also there. It was a dreary day overall and it rarely rains in Colorado but 4th of July was an exception...

Here's what it looked like just before dark ... yes, that's hail.

So because of the torrential downpour that followed, the fireworks in town were cancelled. Sean got back into town the night before so was able to spend it with the boys shooting off fireworks in the street. They didn't mind that the other's were cancelled...

the boys setting them off

And here's what girls look like when it rains on 4th of July ..

The next night we went to my mom's house to hang out. My sister and brother in law brought steaks (yum!) and it was dry enough for the kids to play basketball outside. My brother Josh came too and kept everyone entertained. It's what he does best. I have no pictures of that night because mom and dad made us all check our phones at the door. (not sure why the parents don't like us all sitting on the couch texting each other).... So I'll blame them for not being able to record the night for future generations to see. It actually did force us to all have human interaction outside which was a good thing. I even got my car washed! On my way home .. I got to stop and watch the fireworks show that was postponed from the night before. That was a bonus .. even if I was alone - it was kinda peaceful ...

and I had my Iphone back so was able to catch the moment ...

HAPPY 4th AMERICA!!