Independence Day Together!

We were excited that Ben made it home just in time for the long weekend! We did all the essential 4th of July events. We had a barbecue, went to the parade, and watched the fireworks. The best part was we got it spend it with Ben (even if he came back from the desert sick). We are so grateful for our Independence and those who make it possible.

SATURDAY BBQ
We had some friends from church over for a get together. Rhone made "fireworks" that we hung on the deck and I made a patriotic cake. It was a 5 layer cake. It was pretty tasty and worth the work for a holiday. It was fun to have so many little ones running around and splashing in the water. The food was delicious and the company was great.

The artist showing off his work and dirty hands.

Rhone's finished fireworks and my finished cake.

The inside surprise. It's a flag!

Our usual splash pool got too crowded so we set this little one up too, but then the boys (and a shovel) all got in anyway.

The slip and slide was the highlight of the night- so much entertainment for the kiddos and the adults. Check out this little guy's form- he was good.

Nice try Rhone!

PARADE AND FIREWORKS

The parade was at night. I've never heard of that before, but it was a little cooler and closer to the fireworks show. So I thought it worked out nicely. DE does not allow any personal fireworks, not even a sparkler. So if you want to see fireworks you have to go to the big show. Rhone was getting tired by show time. But he had a great time running around and playing with his friend while we were waiting for it to get dark. He was unsure about all the noise, but still kept an eye on the show as long as he was being snuggled.

Waiting for the parade to start.

Watching the action. Notice the candy in every possible holding spot.



Watching the fireworks safe in Dad's arms.


Isn't this a great shot of Ben's plane. The lighting is perfect.

Summer is so Sweet

and a little sweaty too. Who knew summer in DE was as hot and humid as summer in MS- not me. We have managed to get a few fun outings in while Ben is gone. We picked blueberries at the local farm. I had never even seen a blueberry bush before, so this was pretty exciting for me too. We also took a trip to Philly to meet up with Cole and wander around University of Pennsylvania's campus. Campus's in the middle of a bustling city are really a beautiful oasis.

What really makes summer so sweet are the simple things like playing in a warm rain, enjoying a cold orange julius in the backyard, eating peas straight from the garden, and keeping cool in the water. I love summer with a 1 and half year old. It just doesn't get better than this.

(Sorry for all the Rhone pictures, but without Ben here, who else can I take them of. Plus Ben likes seeing his little guy.)

When I was little we always ate peas with my great grandma. Peas in the pod will always be such a sweet memory for me.



Rhone was eating blueberries out of the bucket left and right. He LOVES them.


Apparently a bronze corner of the Declaration of Independence in the tushy, doesn't make Rhone want to smile- go figure.



Watching the duck family stroll through our backyard. I love the colors in this picture. It just says summer to me.

Rhone is wearing his free Phillies shirt. Thanks JC Penny.

Nothing like 2 puppy dogs drinking from the sprinkler.

Rhone working his hose magic. Holy smokes I am loud- so turn down the volume please!

Father's Day....sort of

Happy Father's Day to all our Dads and Grandpas. Rhone sent all 4 of his grandpa's a high 5. We sure do love and miss our dad. We wish he was here with us instead of in a tent in 120 degree weather in Afghanistan. We are excited to celebrate with him when he gets home. Thanks for being such great men and blessing our lives so much!

Painting high 5's for the Father's Day cards and then giving one with his blue hand.


Rhone talking to Ben on the phone today. Maybe one year they will be together on Father's day.

Ben and Rhone on the phone together. Happy Father's Day DAD.

Flag Day Fun

(picture taken by me in the Maryland State Capitol, which also served as our nations capitol for a short time)

Today is the birthday of the adoption of the United States flag. We celebrated with our friends by painting a flag, reading a book, parading to "It's a Grand Old Flag", and eating an oh so cute flag treat.

Let the painting begin.

What a beautiful flag. It's amazing what a little masking tape can do.

Having a snack with Tommy- too cute.

Our flag treats were graham crackers with vanilla frosting and licorice for the red stripes and mini blue m and m's for the stars. They were so cute. Thanks for having us Amy!

You may wonder why I am posting all of these pictures. For our dad (and you too), so he can see what we're up to.

they came and they went

We have been a busy bunch since my last post. Ben came home the night of memorial day and Jenna came in the following Wed. Sad to say the are both already gone, but we had a great time while they were here, even if it was just for a little bit.

Jenna is a friend from good ole University of Idaho. She hadn't been to the east coast before, so we hit up a lot of the sites. This made for lots of traveling and some busy days. Luckily my little Rhone is an amazing trooper and the traffic gods smiled upon me too. I was able to parallel park in downtown DC on the 1st try- not too shabby for a girl from a town without any stop lights.

We took Jenna to beautiful Rehoboth beach. One of Delaware's finest. Rhone was pretty silly with the umbrella- he would learn from side to side.

We visited the historical homes in Odessa, DE. They were beautiful and very interesting. Since most of the owners were Quakers, they were much simpler than the homes I saw in MS.


A whole new meaning to king of the throne.

Also in Delaware, the visit to the C-5. Here's my little Rhone inside the cargo area.



We also took a little trip to Annapolis Maryland. Home of the United States Naval Acadamy and a half way meeting point so we could visit with Ben's sister and husband before they move. Annapolis is quite the cute little town, I would like to explore it some more.




Stephen, Terri, and us. We are sad to see them leave the east coast. They are some of the few family we had around.

A trip to the east coast wouldn't be complete without a visit to our nation's capitol. We hit the monuments, Arlington National cemetery, the museum of natural history and the museum of American history- all in the same day. Can you say exhausted?

Hello porcupine- in the museum of natural history.

To finish up the trip we headed to Philly for a little more American history. Oh, and of course cheese steaks.

We drove to south Philly for the real authentic cheese steak experience, cheese whiz and all. We got one steak from Geno's and one steak from Pat's. They have quite the rival going on.

In the side by side taste test, Jenna and I both agree, we're Pat's girls. Rhone warmed up to "enna" pretty quickly.

Despite all the crazy traveling we enjoyed a little quite time with our Ben too. Feeding the ducks is quite an adventure- they sure are brave. We also got to open presents from Ben's last trip. Rhone got a cool wooden cow toy from Germany and I got Belgium chocolate straight from the square in Brussels. We sure are lucky to have him. We are hoping our dad/hubby makes it home from this trip in time to celebrate the 4th of July with us.