Happy Independence Weekend! Jared spent a lot of last week sick (also we've been doing a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon in the evening after the kids are asleep--would recommend), but I'm so glad he recovered in time to enjoy some great July 4th activities with us. I appreciate July 4th extra because it brings up memories from the medical training years--nearly a decade of sad or nonexistent July 4th celebrations. First we were living in the Caribbean for a few years, where of course America's birthday isn't celebrated. Then we were living in Georgia, with no family or friends nearby to spend the day with (also, pregnant Laura=near-dead Laura). Then Jared had 3 years of residency, during which I may be mistaken, but I think he had to work on July 4th for every one of those years. I remember trying to take colicky little Jack to our neighborhood parade by myself, and we lasted about 40 seconds outside of the car before he started screaming because he was terrified of the fire trucks. I got really good at disassociating from most holidays during that decade, because I had to. So now I try to appreciate the holidays a little extra, especially the ones when we are lucky enough to do fun things with extended family.
We weren't going to be able to see much family on the 4th this year, so I invited everyone to go kayaking at a nearby neighborhood pond on July 3rd. Chris and Tim's family came, which meant playmates for Jack and Alice, and we had a great time watching tons of kids on kayaks and paddle boards cruising around the pond. To me, every 4th of July needs some type of water play.
The next day, we invited all family available to come to our patio for a July 4th brunch, and then swimming at our neighborhood pool. This went great too! It was our first time hosting in our backyard. Our backyard is far from finished and it might not be done until the end of the summer, but for now we at least have half a patio and a bit of grass, so it was a good time. Swimming at the pool was fun too--my dad played in the water with all the kids and they were in heaven, and I got to lounge poolside with my mom. Now I'll get to some pictures from our week:
