4th of July

We had a great day on the 4th. We puttered around most of the day, and at about 4:00 I cut Oliver's hair. He decided it would be fun to have a mohawk for the weekend, so I left that part:



After styling it with a *lot* of product (who knew mohawks required so much work?), the rest of us got ready and headed to the home of our friends, Cory and Nikky, who have a big 4th of July BBQ every year. They have 3 boys; the eldest two are slightly older and slightly younger than Emma and Simon, and their youngest just turned 1. Cory and Nikky are super-duper, and we always have an awesome time with them, so we were looking forward to it. I decided to be adventurous and actually prepare a dish instead of copping out and buying something pre-made. I made a mango and strawberry fruit salad, using mint from our yard (at least I hope it was mint, hehe!) and a freshly squeezed lime. It didn't last long at the BBQ so I hope that means people liked it.



At the BBQ, the big attraction was their new trampoline. Matt bought one when we were in our late teens/early twenties and we got a ton of enjoyment (and exercise!) out of it, but someone was always falling/flying off and landing painfully so I have always said 'we are not getting a trampoline!' Even when they starting coming with the screen/net enclosures, I didn't think they looked very sturdy, so I was a meanie and told the kids no, which also included jumping on other peoples' trampolines. However, I changed my mind after seeing the one at the BBQ in action. The kids were constantly bouncing against the net and it just seemed really well put together. Plus the kids (obviously) weren't nearly as crazy as Matt and I and our friends used to be. I guess I shouldn't compare the jumping habits of adults to those of children. :)


Oly jumping with Emma and Simon (Simon's feet):




Simon and Emma having fun:



Max, after being told he had to get off and give someone else a turn:



Gus, trying out the playset:





A couple of cool guys:



Oly and Sam:



Sam enjoying the print on Nikky's bouncy chair:



Gus, about to embark on a grand adventure:



Charming, as usual:



Max, 'fishing' the bowl out of the pool. He worked at that for several minutes, and he got it!





There were mass quantities of awesome food and a vast array of desserts, and the kids played games that Nikky had organized, and a great time was had by all.

Oly and Max, doing the water balloon toss:

Oly and Gus, doing the baby race while Emma cheers them on (Cory and Dante to the left):





*Photo credits and thanks to Nikky for the top photo of Oly and the bottom four of the games.

I left at about 7:30 with Max, Gus, and Sam, because they were about to start the loud fireworks, and Gus was starting to get owly (his bedtime is usually between 7 and 7:30). Oly stayed with Emma and Simon until about 9 or so. Got Sam and Gus to sleep by 8:30, and the others were passed out on the couch at 11:00.

On the 5th of July, we got our own trampoline. More about that to come!