4th of July

Better late than never, right? I know that its taken me forever to get these pictures up, but we've been busy! On the 4th, we took the kids to the fireworks in Sanford. It was rainy right up until fireworks time, and then it let up for a few minutes. The kids loved it. Jake sat on my shoulders and just wiggled and grinned and kicked his legs. Rick said the expression on his face was of pure joy. Jillian loved it too - and got especially excited when she saw purple fireworks (her favorite color!).

The next night, we had some leftover sparklers and stuff to light, so the neighbors came over with their extras, and we put on a little show. The neighbor kids are Jillian's friends Timmy and Sophie, so she was excited to have them come over.Guarding the stash!

The one picture I have of Jake. He spent most of the time with the guys, "helping" to set up the fireworks. (He was closely supervised, I assure you...)

Jillian and her new best friend, Sophia!

Playing "Ring Around the Rosie" while Timmy watches...

And they all fall down!

That night, Jillian and Sophie made plans for their first real play date together. Timmy and Sophie come to our house all the time to swim or play in the yard, but they made plans for Jillian to go to Sophia's house in the morning, without me there. They were both so excited - Jillian went to bed and woke up talking about it! And she had a blast. But the cute thing is that Timmy, who is 7, made up a list for them of things to do. They started with playing in the sand, and then playing dollies, and then doing their nails, and then watching a movie. And the girls did everything on Timmy's list, in order. He's one of those kids that thrives on routine, so I guess he was doing what he does best! Now, every time Jillian asks if she can go over to "Miss Matosha's" house (Natosha, their mom), she says, "and Timmy can make a list of things for us to do!" Guess she liked the routine too!

I love love love that the kids have some kids next door to play with. Timmy and Sophie are a little older than Jillian and Jake, but when the four of them are together, they play so well together. They are so cute! I just sit back and watch, and think about how this is all I've wanted for them - to live in a neighborhood with kids to play with, and nothing but fun during the summer! I love it!