Happy 4th of July!

I'm so incredibly grateful for the freedom and independence I enjoy as an American citizen, and had a blast celebrating these gifts today with my family. First the girls and I ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a few last-minute things for our picnic, then we grabbed sub sandwiches and the boat and headed out to Myron Lake here in Yakima. It's a small lake which used to be a rock quarry. I was a little unsure of the spot when we first got there (Jeremy's the only one who'd been to this lake; he went there to go fishing in with some co-workers in May), but the relatively secluded spot, along with the fact that there were very few people there to compete with, made this a perfect spot for our afternoon. We had our picnic, then Jeremy put his fishing boat in the water and took turns taking the girls out on the lake. They LOVED it! Cadence learned to trust her life vest and the 'noodle' and spent some time kicking around in some pretty deep water. Angel went with us and, although she enjoyed being out with the family, was very much glad to get home where she could lay on her soft, (relatively) clean bed. She's just not overly fond of swimming and getting dirty. In fact, I'd say she's more like a cat in that sense. :) After we'd had plenty of fun playing in the water we came home to take naps, then watched "Flushed Away" before ending the night watching the fireworks. We can't see any live fireworks from our place, but if we walk just down the street a little ways we get a really clear view of the city fireworks display. So, we put some pillows and blankets in the wagon and hauled the girls down to a little patch of grass where were were promptly attacked by ravenous mosquitos and I ended up running back up the street to get the bug spray. I had given us all a quick once over, thinking that would at least deter them for the 30 or so minutes we would be down there, but apparently they were rather determined to feast on Jeremy and me, so we had to rethink our plan of attack. Another dousing of 'Off' kept most of them at bay, but there were a few that were rather determined to get a snack off of us. I'm certainly glad I was inspired to buy more After Bite this morning!

I took lots of pictures, so here's a few of the best to start with; I'll try to get more loaded later.

Two too cute girls!

Yes, I'm talking about you...

First one out in the boat...

Wee Haw!

Dad has enough lap room for everybody, but we only get to go out one at a time with him on the boat (although Mom has yet to have a turn...)

It's Kennedy's turn...so I'm just sitting here...with my feet in the water...

Kennedy and Dad

Cap'n Kennedy

EEEEEE!!! Heeheehee!

I'm not scared of the water! (only a little bit scared, but not really...just a little. maybe)

Cadence doing it all by herself!

Kennedy absolutely loved being in the water and floating around - every time Jeremy told Cadence to kick, Kennedy kicked and kicked her little heart out too

Hi!

No fear here!

Dad and his girls :)

Just floatin' around!

We had such a good time, we're definitely planning on going back soon. The girls just loved being in the water, and taking turns on the boat with their dad. We really had a fabulous family day, and we hope that all of YOU had a fabulous 4th as well! Remember to celebrate all year long!

This Kid Loves Cherries!

Last weekend my sister was in town and we all shared cherries over the weekend. Last week I bought some cherries to have with dinner the night we had the missionaries over. There were some kids selling cherries they had picked out of the cherry tree in their yard, so I stopped to see how much they were selling for. They gave me a bucketful for $2.00; I probably paid around $1/lb, so that was a pretty decent price. The cherries were delicious! While we were eating dinner outside at our picnic table, our neighbor came out on her deck and asked if we wanted some cherries she had. Sure! we said. Then Jeremy brought home a mixed bag of cherries from a co-worker. We have been very blessed with cherries this last week! Fortunately, none of them went to waste. Cadence is a cherry-eating machine. At first she wasn't sure about eating them herself because they have the pit, but when I showed her how she could bite off one side, then scoop the pit out, nothing could stop her. Fortunately cherries are in season when it's appropriate for little girls to sit outside either naked or in a swimsuit and let cherry juice decorate everything they touch. Kennedy enjoys the cherries too, but not nearly as much as Cadence.

Take my picture too, Mom!

I loves me some cherries!

Fortunately, we have a variety of rinse-options available once she's finished enjoying her cherries (you can see where we had the slip'n'slide in one spot for a little too long last week in the background). Cadence chose the sprinkler when she was done, and the girls had fun getting all cleaned up, then shushing their slippery little selves down the slide. Thank goodness for our wonderful backyard!

Painting the Bathtub

So the other day I just couldn't take the "Mom, Mom, Mom, Hey Mom, Mom, Mom - I need this, I need that, she's taking something from me,whiney-whine, fussy-fuss anymore. I took them into the bathroom and told them that our bathtub looked awfully plain, and I thought it could use some decorating. I asked them if they wanted to paint it up to make it more exciting. Boy were they up for the challenge! Cadence stripped right then and there, and when Kennedy caught on to what was going on, she wasn't about to be left out! So for a good 45minutes, maybe a little over an hour, the girls went to town painting the bathtub. It was great! Unfortunately we had major meltdown the next day when I wouldn't let them paint the tub again, but it's a good activity to do on the days I clean the bathtub, since I'll be scrubbing it down anyway. Just after Cadence stepped into the tub she told me not to worry, they were going to make the bathtub "sexy gorgeous" for me. Here's what happened:

'Sexy gorgeous?' Maybe not quite. But is sure was a lot of fun!