Belated 4th of July

Monday, after the 4th of July, most people had work off so we decided to take advantage of the time. Mom, Lacey and I took Emily to the mall to get some pictures taken in her blessing dress. I had wanted to do it sooner, but I didn't want her to wear it before her blessing day. And because we waited to bless her until we could bless her with Lilah and with family around, she was 3.5 months old already. It was a good thing she's a little thing and could still fit into the dress. Of course we arrive early, and of course by the time the photographers are ready, you've waited 45 minutes and your baby isn't really smiling anymore, but we got a decent picture- and since there was really only one picture that I liked, I was able to use the cheap $8 coupon for the entire package. I was reminded though, why I don't enjoy taking kids in for pictures.
While we were gone, Jeff and my dad took the boys over to Uncle Kenny and Aunt Mari's house. They have an amazing place and the boys spent the afternoon riding horses, jumping on the tramp, picking raspberries, fishing, and riding in the paddle boats. I think they were ready to ditch us and stay with Kenny and Mari forever! They're so sweet to let us come over and we love spending time with them. Mom dropped my off at their house afterwards, and then Jeff and I loaded up the kids and went over to his parents house for dinner.

We then headed over to the park to play some tennis with Mom & Dad, Scott & Amanda, and Greg & Amy. It was fun to get together with everyone and the kids enjoyed playing at the park. We played until it got too dark to see anymore, and then we headed back to Scott & Amanda's to celebrate a belated 4th of July. Scott & Greg had an impressive stack of fireworks and they were kind enough to let us all share in the fun. Hopefully the neighbors didn't mind too much. :) The kids had a blast watching and helping, they especially loved the 3ft long sparklers that Uncle Scott had. My favorite part though was watching Eliza dance around with her sparkler- she really does make a perfect little pixie. Thanks to everyone for a fun evening! (And thanks Amanda for letting me steal your pictures:)