July 4th!

We had a fabulous time celebrating the 4th of July this year! We woke up early, had amazing donuts for breakfast, and then I decided to take the kids to see Monte Carlo. When I say kids, I mean Kamryn, Owen just likes to go along for the show. About 20 minutes into the movie, Owen was sound asleep in his stroller.

We were home by 11:30 and decided to relax, play wii and pick up the house. After grilling up some burgers for lunch, Owen insisted on climbing into bed with Kam to watch Curious George on his iPad. She was such a sweet sister to cuddle him and watch it too.
I felt crummy for most the afternoon, so a little downtime did this Mama some good. My family came over around 4;30 and we headed outdoors to the pool. We all jumped into the water to discover it was like swimming in a bathtub.. it was so warm.
Kamryn and Gigi love throwing in diving rings and blocks. They both jump at the same time and race to see who can get to the bottom the quickest. Then one usually ends up pouting because the other one won. They are more like sisters than cousins in so many ways!
Owen likes to sit on the step and play catch with the beach ball. He gets bored and wants to jump off the side into the water. Then he decides he wants me to carry his oxygen tank in one arm and him in the other and I am to swim across the pool and back over and over. It's good exercise, but someone really needs to invent a floating device for the oxygen tank. I'm sure the tank isn't supposed to go IN the water, but we do what we have to so Owen can have fun!
Kamryn was a good swimmer really early on. Owen would be a fish if I could get his little nose under water. I'm not sure, but common sense tells me that getting his nasal cannula full of water won't do the oxygen any good. So he bobs with his head above water for now. What I am getting at is ... while my kids are pretty brave and strong swimmers (including Gigi)... I have never seen a 24 month old like Livvy. Wow!! The first time she got in the water this year, she just went for it. Under the water, kicking those legs, she is gonna be a fish!! She runs around the pool and jumps in like it's no big deal. It doesn't matter if someone is there to catch her, if she sinks to the bottom, or if she floats on her back. She's just a daredevil!

Kelli put on her floaties and dropped her in the water and she immediately started bobbing, blowing bubbles and working on her back float.
After 2 hours and many wrinkly toes later, we decided to get out. Livvy was all dried off, in her towel and decided she wasn't done. We all saw her run to the edge of the water and we all ran after her.. but she was getting back in the water. She just jumped off the edge and her Daddy grabbed her as she sank. She came out with the biggest grin like "let's do it again!" Yikes.

Owen likes to get out and lounge on the chairs. He is such a chill guy. He loves being around family more than anything!! He grins from ear to ear watching Gigi and Kamryn jumping off the side, Livvy getting into mischief, Uncle Rog doing cannon balls, you get the idea. He's just happy to be soaking it all in.
We came inside just in time for fried chicken and apple crisp. It doesn't get any more American than that! The kids changed out of their wet clothes and they got crazy! Toys flying, kids wrestling, squeals of excitement.. I love it all so much!! Owen was tackling Gigi and it appears that he had the upper hand in this take down.

We called it an early night. I bathed Owen and he crashed. Those 9pm fireworks didn't stand a chance. I caught the end of the Macy's firework show on TV and now I am off to dreamland. I loved celebrating our freedom and independence with family today! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!!