Independence Day

Where did this week go? It seems like the 4th of July was just yesterday, but I realize I'm a little delinquent with this post. Last weekend was a very long one for me - four days to be exact, and I loved every minute of it. I especially loved Monday because for the first time in a very long time, Kyle had a holiday (besides Christmas or Thanksgiving) off! We weren't incredibly productive, but we got to spend time with the Fox family and Tom, so it was a pretty good day.

Stillwater's fireworks were on Sunday, so we invited Amanda and Kurtis over for a cookout. Then we drove across town to Kim and Trey's so we could have a front row seat for the show. They weren't there, but they were kind enough to let us sit in their driveway. :) We had a great time and were able to really celebrate this year, as opposed to last year when Kyle was still healing from his surgery.

I really enjoy the 4th of July. When I was younger it meant getting together at Grandma and Grandpa Taylor's, eating homemade ice cream, swimming all day and watching the Hennessey fireworks - those were the days. A lot of things have changed since then, but I still love the holiday and am so fortunate to be an American. I think too often we focus on the negative - bickering politicians, national debt, injustice. None of these are minor issues, but there are plenty of great things about this country that don't get near enough air time.

I am in the process of reading "The Help." It's the next book club selection, but chances of me finishing it before Monday are slim. But I digress. It's a novel set in Mississippi in the 1960s. Reading that book reminds me of how far we've come as a county. We aren't perfect but there's nowhere else I'd rather call home.

So happy late Independence Day to all of you out there. I hope you partied as hard as Uncle Sam!

So they aren't red, white and blue, but I had leftover icing from cake class so I decided to make some cookies. They looked better than they tasted.

Watching the fireworks. We left the house without getting lawn chairs so the guys had to stand. #poorplanning

Krissi and Brandon were there when we pulled up, which was a really good surprise. They turned their radio to the station that was set to the firework show. We thought the Star Spangled Banner would be the finale, but it was followed by the OSU fight song. Not sure how patriotic that is...

I took Friday off to scrapbook with Mom, but like I expected, we didn't actually get around to scrapbooking until about 8:30 p.m. That darn nephew is just too cute not to play with all day. Here a few photos and videos:

Asher showed me his new house! Stacy and Josh moved out of Mom and Dad's into a cute rent house in Kim's old neighborhood. Asher loves playing on the back porch.

His favorite room is his play room and any time I would leave, he would call me back in to play with him. We even called Uncle Kyle to tell him how much fun he was missing.

Can you tell someone has been to Sonic a few too many times?

Joe and Diane Garrison let us swim at their house on Saturday night. Asher had a lot of fun with the sinking toys that his Dad had to get from the bottom of the pool.

At 21 months Asher can say his ABC's! They don't all come out right, but he is definitely on the right track. It's hard to get video of him these days because every time he sees my camera he wants to "see Asher." He is definitely Stacy's child!