Thank goodness for that yellow slice

I have been looking forward to this weekend... I dont know why I stress so much over such petty things but anyhow, it was nice just to take a break and de-stress! We started off our 4th of July weekend with our first BBQ of the year! We met up with the awesome and super hip couple Brandilyn & Dave.  We went to Eagle Park with our small grill and combined forces (and lots of food) and ended up with an awesome night.

 

Unfortunately the park is chalk full of mosquito's....Brandilyn said they must've been radioactive bugs. I think she was right.

We went to church and relaxed on Sunday but then Monday we started the day early at the local Rexburg parade which yours truly was apart of! Yes, my 15 minutes of fame. I love that we have a 4th of July parade every year down Main St. It feels so small town and I love it. Afterwards we went to a big lunch with Collins family and enjoyed the company and seeing some relatives that we probably haven't seen since our wedding. After lunch, we came home for a couple hours before we went over to the Hartman's with all our National Guard friends minus Rose who is currently deployed for our traditional 4th of July BBQ. We had a ton of food, watched WallE with all the kiddos and played some games. Perfect.

 Little Luke and his momma Ashley. Luke spent almost the whole time climbing on and off this coffee table and then he would just hang there because he didn't know how far the ground was. It was pretty cute to watch.

And then we have the Hartman boys, Aiden (top) and Tyler (below) who definitely keep their momma running around :)

Here's some of the gang... we had some other friends, Sarah & Clint and Nikki whose husband is also in the guard but currently away for some training.

After we all parted, Collin and I drove out to his moms house with his sister Hayley where we all lit off some fireworks and roasted smores by the fire Collin had built out in the backyard. We didn't feel like fighting the crowds at the firework show and thought that hanging out with friends and family with our own personal fireworks was much better. It was.

I am truly so grateful that I can live in such a wonderful country with the freedoms and luxuries we enjoy here. I know there is a lot of turmoil but I know this is a land of promise and I'm thankful for my husbands choice to serve his nation, it has been a tremendous blessing in our life. Collins brother Preston, our friend Rose is out currently serving with the rest of Collins unit in Iraq and are coming home in September (woot woot!!!) Hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day!