4th of July Weekend

This summer feels as though it has just begun, and yet it's half over already! This 4th of July we hung out in Albuquerque and made good use of our free time. We hit a Baseball game...Beckett's first. He was surprisingly good, and seemed to be taking full advantage of being held for a couple of hours straight. Asher was really excited for the game, and I used it as leverage the whole day. Interestingly enough, his fave parts were Orbit (our mascot), and the play equipment across the field. We enjoyed the fireworks afterward from the parking lot/car, afraid that baby B would NOT enjoy the earth-shattering explosions as much as the rest of us. Asher loved them.

Asher's meltdown...it's not his birthday.

The Fourth was Emery's first birthday! We prepped Asher all day, explaining that it was both Emery's birthday, and America's birthday. He still cried when we all sang to her. Meagan was nice enough to let Asher blow out a candle of his own. One of these days it will be OK for someone else to have a birthday....won't it?? Is that just a 3 year old thing?

We LOVE first birthday parties. The kids are so cute at that age, and I love seeing what they'll do with the cake. Emery was disappointingly neat and clean, but seemed to love her day. She and Ash were splashing away in her new sand/water table. She was playing in just her shorts, so after a while, Asher begged to take his shirt off too. So funny.

Beckett got to hang with Grandma and Grandpa Reitz. He is such a sweetheart, and doesn't seem to mind being passed around at all. He just loves to be held. Ooooh, I just love those cheekies!

Before nightfall, there was a little drizzle of rain, which had the guys panicking that they wouldn't be able to let off their arsenal of fireworks they'd bought. It cleared up and we were left with a gorgeous double rainbow (only one is showing in the pic, bummer). The only casualty of the night was Corey's thumb. He ended up burning it pretty good with a lighter, after complaining repeatedly about how they didn't get any punks. He was very concerned about treating it correctly, and I am happy to report that it is healing well (another fine reminder of why men do not bear children). No doubt, next year he'll remember to get some.

We even got in a healthy dose of yard work, making some progress on our yard's face lift! Aaron and Adam helped out, and I am so excited that its taking shape!

Family, fun, food and fireworks. Good times.