4th of July

We had a great weekend...where do I start? The kids were in a parade at school on Thursday and then we celebrated Doug's birthday that night! Matt had fun helping make a brownie cake with strawberries and cool whip....yes it looked a little better than Marlie's cake...I will get better at this! Of course Matt took ALL the credit for the cake, but that was the point right? Friday we went to our neighborhood parade and spent the day at the pool. We stayed up late and did fireworks in the backyard. I'm living life through my children and did my first Roman Candle too. I know how pathetic is that? Maybe I'll even go to a water park in my old age. We climbed up to the top of our fence and watched the fireworks in our neighborhood. Matt was more interested in his glow sticks and the fact that we were sitting on the fence but he had fun so all was good. Saturday morning Doug and Matt went fishing. I think Matt talking constantly might have scared the fish away because they only got bites. Oh well....he says the funniest things so we can deal with the fact that there is never a quiet moment in our house!

But let's get to the important stuff.....first I'm happy to report that Marlie is not only saying "Momma" but she says "MY Momma"! Okay I will admit she said "Hannah" first - that's one of our lovely dogs that wakes us up early in the mornings when our kids happen to sleep late. Oh and she's walking too. We thought her chongo (aka ponytail for you gringos) on the top of her head might have been throwing her off balance but she's got it now. And another big thing.....Matt gets up in the mornings, goes potty and then gets dressed all by himself before I come up to get him. Now those of you without kids might wonder why I even mentioned that but the rest of you know how wonderful this little step is. I told Doug I was going to try to train him to do that (I know what you're thinking...he's not a dog) and Doug reminded me that he's only 2 - well almost 3. But let me tell you parents that kids are SO trainable. Just keep them in their little routine and life is so much easier. I'm positive that's why I can lay my kids in bed at 8:30 every night with no fuss. Then I have time to sit here and bore you with every little detail of my little peas lives! HA!

And in case I haven't told you.....I think the world of my kids. I never in my life imagined that I'd love my children this much. Even with snotty noses and spaghetti all over their face. And I'm loving being able to spend more time with them. I'm so glad I have the opportunity to enjoy these little stages. So I want to say Thank You to all the men and women who are fighting in the war. I can't even imagine the amount of praying I'd be doing if my children were there. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! God Bless America!