Our 4th of July

First and foremost, our house was more decorated this year for Independence Day than it was last year.  You may remember that last year we had just moved from Iowa so we were still unpacking boxes then.  Plus, I made some new decorations this year.

I spray painted some kidney beans to fill my vases.  I'm actually excited about these beans because I can store them and use them over and over again for other holidays.  I know some people will put M&Ms or other candy in there (which is a brilliant idea), but I can't do that because they will get eaten by myself, or by one of the many kids that come over to my house in the course of a week.

And I also made a few wreaths to hang on a few of our doors to help make the house more festive.  I think they turned out really cute.  Plus, they were really cheap to make.

We spent our Independence Day shopping for mattresses, bedding, lawn mowers, work shirts for Nathan, eating, napping, more eating, visiting with neighbors, and then of course, watching fireworks.

In order to celebrate for the 4th of July we had to dress for the occasion.  I got Hannah's skirt from Walmart for $4.  Isn't that awesome?!

I also did her hair really cute too.

Our next door neighbors invited us over again this year for a tasty BBQ.  It was nice not to have to drive somewhere or sit in any traffic.  We love our neighbors.  We made a tossed green salad and some Funfetti cookies for the kids.

Hannah enjoyed the Doritos chips and got them all over her face.  She would not stop chowing down on them.  Luckily, I got her to eat some corn and watermelon, which is a miracle in itself.

After dinner, Nathan napped while Hannah and I played outside with the kids (luckily, it wasn't too hot here).  As dusk approached the fireflies made their appearance, and Hannah was freaked out by them.  She would scream and pretty much sat on our laps the rest of the evening.

Once it got dark enough, our neighbors put on a cool firework display.  This was the first time that Hannah had seen any kind of fireworks.  I was a little nervous and thought that she wouldn't like them (noise, smoke, sparks and all), but she LOVED them.  She was totally engrossed, jumped up and down with excitement, and loved every minute of it.  She loved watching Claire and Harrison play with the sparklers, but her favorite were the bigger fireworks that put on a cool display.  The last picture is of Hannah jumping up and down during one of the bigger displays (it's a little blurry...sorry).  It was so fun to watch her.

After the fireworks we walked back home, put Hannah to bed, and then we ourselves turned in for the evening.  It was a nice, enjoyable day.