Our Long, 'merican Weekend.

Happy belated Independence day to ya! To me, this day is for celebrating our country with big family gatherings and fireworks and what not, but we made the most of it with just the four of us. It was sooo nice to have Dave home for a long weekend and just relax and play. He works hard and has an hour, hour and a half commute every day so we always miss him during the week!

Friday we first did a little tie-dying. Red, white and blue! Lil tip: if you don't have enough bottles, a sippy cup works fairly well. Riley thought it was a little ridiculous what we were doing, and I'm still not sure she made the connection of the soaked, banded balls of fabric we put aside to set and the rinsed, washed, and dried shirts that appeared the next day but...we had fun. This could totally become a tradition!

Afterwards we woke up Joe (he napped during our tie-dye activity. Luckily, I'd say.) and took the kids to nearby historic town, Golden. It's kind of a cowboy town and they have a big festival every July 4th - lots of games and bouncy houses and face painting for the kids, a playground, volleyball courts, a river where people were floating down on inner tubes, vendors, and fireworks, though we left well before they started. Dave and Riley waited in line for face painting forever, and when it was finally her turn, Riley asked for a bunny on her arm? It was a weird bunny with red eyes, but then he blew glitter on it and she was pleased.

It was an exhausting day for the kiddies! For everyone! Instead of grilling as planned when we got back, we had KFC, took this really great picture of the kids in their patriotic outfits, gave them a bath and then put them in bed so mom and dad could watch the DC show on television and eat cookie dough on the couch. It was perfect.

Then we had Saturday to laze around, go to the park, have the missionaries over for dinner (bbq, at last, and Dave's bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers - big YUM) and visit the mall and ride this:

A 3-minute carousel ride and face painting: totally made her weekend.

Sunday we kept the party going with pancakes for breakfast by Riley's request. Then we went to church and recharged the ole batteries and got inspired for the week ahead. Our Stake President gave the Relief Society lesson and I came away feeling proud and humbled to be a woman as well as inspired to rise to my responsibilities in my family and community. To think more of my responsibilities than my rights, if I may borrow a sentiment from Elder Oaks' conference talk.

Later we went for a walk around the lake. I got the kids to wear their new shirts for picture purposes. Aren't they great?!

Riley and her water gun. Poor Joe.

There was a pretty big playground by the lake too so we had to visit. Riley climbed (or tried) every surface available. Here she is reenacting a scene from Frozen: "Does the air feel a little thin up here to you?" haha.

Speaking of Frozen, while I was trying to get Joe to take a nap yesterday, Riley came up to the closed door and sang, "Do you wanna build a snowman?" Oh man - I was shaking with suppressed laughter as she woefully sang, "I never see you anymo', come out the door, it's like you've gone. awaaaaay!" Dying! And then, "We used to be best buddies, and now we're not, I wish you would tell me...whyyyyyy!" and Joe struggling to get away and yelling "Snowman!" That nap never happened, by the way. In case you were wondering.

Riley "let" Dave have a turn on the scooter chasing her.

For some reason I've been daydreaming about the Lake District in England a lot lately. Actually, I've been trying to memorize some Wordsworth poetry, and his house, Dove Cottage, is located there so it got me thinking about my visits when I was a missionary in Barrow-in-Furness. It's so beautiful! I told Dave we had to visit some day, maybe at Christmas time as in my opionion, nothing is quite as festive as a Christmas in the land of Dickens.

The kids did not want to go home. Actually, Riley kept telling us she wanted to go fishing, and we only just barely preempted a massive meltdown by telling her that maybe Grandpa and Jake could take her fishing next time they visited. So, Grandpa and Jake: you've been warned. She might not remember, but I find she has a curiously sharp memory when it comes to fun activities being mentioned for the future. Such as the beach: she frequently asks when we are going to see Jon at the beach. Just another month, Riley girl!