4th of July 2017.

We had a fairly low key 4th of July this year, which is exactly what we wanted with young ones! Norah is 2.5 and Lucy and Ellory are 4 months. Kley's mom is one of eight kids, so her side always gets together in a neighboring town with everyone. We went there and ate/hung out, and grandma/great aunts were generous to watch the twins for an hour while we took Norah to the carnival. We didn't stay late enough for the fireworks, because Norah is scared of them and because it was late, but it worked perfectly because we got to watch them from the car ride on the way home (noise free!). 

My favorite photo of the day. Basically as perfect as you can get with littles!

Norah was so excited all day and kept talking about going on the bounce houses. It was adorable- she kept saying, "I'm so excited! It's going to be amazing!" all day. It's so neat that she can understand time a little more now and can look forward to something. Here's Norah and Daddy waiting in line for the big slide! We were very proud of her patience waiting for her turn.

Big slide fun!

Riding the train! I know having babies around again automatically makes Norah seem older, but she really does seem older this summer. She walked right up to the train and hopped in and waved to us. (There was a time before where she would never have rode without one of us with her.) Watching your kids grow and have fun is the absolute best.

We celebrated on the actual 4th with a trip to the pool in the afternoon and dinner at the De Jong's house with grandparents and Uncle Brett and Aunt Elizabeth. Very fun! We had steak, Kley's absolute favorite. It was also very cute that the next day when Norah was praying, she thanked God for grilling steaks. :)

Watching Daddy and Uncle Brett set off some fireworks. Norah only lasted for two and got scared by the loud noises, so she then watched from the window inside.

Happy 4th of July- thankful for the USA!

(You can see 4th of July posts from previous years here.)