4th of July Parade, BBQ, Swimming, and BBQ...

So last 4th of July, we woke up thinking it would be just like any other 4th of July...it wasn't. We looked outside to a huge firetruck in the street honking with hundreds of kids on bikes, strollers, wagons, etc. Our neighborhood has its own parade. We had to laugh...who wouldn't? But as time passed and this year's 4th crept closer and closer, we realized that it was pretty neat. Of course, last year I was about 8 months pregnant and this year we had a cute little red, white, and blue dress for the event. Granted we would rather own a lake place, but we don't (any donations?). So, we were fortunate enough to have a great parade, great friends with a great pool, great BBQs (yes plural), and great Spokane fireworks. Here are some pics.





What a great country to live in! God bless the USA!

Those eyes...

Wonder where she gets those eyes? People love to comment on Maddie's big blue eyes. They say, "Where do those come from?" What do you think?


Thanks for being a great Uncle and Godfather, Uncle Ben! We will update you all on some great Blackhawk 4th of July Parade pics in the next few days.

A COOL spot to play...

On the latest episode of "The New Adventures of Maddie Crawling," the main character found a brand new, cool place to play. I was washing some dishes and overlooking the living room, when I could no longer see Maddie playing. I turned off the water and looked around. Immediately, I heard Nils barking at the window from outside, so I figured Maddie was taunting Nils, while he suffered in the heat (side note: do you think Nils is spoiled too if he thinks 80 degrees is too hot to be outside? That is pathetic! However, I think he might shed less if he is in air conditioning...what do you think?). I was right. Maddie was sitting by the slider giving Nils a funny look. But this time it was different. Not only was she giving him the look, but she was also straddling the vent blowing out a pleasant air conditioned breeze. Take a look for yourself...

I thought I would throw in this cute picture of Maddie playing ball. She loves chasing it and passing it back and forth!

Don't call CPS...

Please don't call CPS, but these pics are of Maddie eating her first McDonald's Cheeseburger. Yes, childhood obesity is a problem in the United States, but we have already committed to limited TV, and encouraging activity. Thus, she is eating her burger in a swing! We will put some more swing pics on later. Jeff built the swing from a Home Depot kit the day before Father's Day. His favorite part of the process was when we were looking at the box. I told him, "Look, this one says it only takes 1 hr to put together. That means we can build it and play on it tonight." He wanted to throw a fit for false advertising. The swingset took him about 1.5 2 3 5 5 6 6.5 hours to build...WELL WORTH IT! Maddie squeals with delight every time we go swinging and sliding and eating cheeseburgers. Thanks Dad! Maddie loves the swingset.