4th of July (Hey, at least it's still July!)

Here are the long awaited pictures of this years 4th of July activities out at Spring Creek.  The weather wasn't as hot as last year, and there was a bit of rain on and off all day.  There was plenty of 4-wheeling for all, and a large array of smoked meats for everyone to try (including smoked brisket, ribs, chicken legs, turkey, pulled pork, and goat.  No, I did not try any of the goat.) and lots of blowin' stuff up.  All in all a typical Spring Creek celebration!




The tutus I made for the girls at a mom's group I'm in.  The girls loved them, especially Claire, who has had limited tutu wearing experience.  They were a fun, festive addition to the day, unfortunately they got a bit wet during the intermittent rain and developed an unpleasant smell, so they are no longer in use.

Suffering through some indoor time when it was raining too hard to be outside

Claire doing one of the thing she does best : using her abundant cuteness to wrangle a snack out of Grams.

Claire and Uncle John

(I think it kinda looks like John has a patriotic lions mane in this picture)

Checking out Gramps as he feeds some cows

 Claire and mommy

Claire and Aunt Katie

Vroom!  Vroom!

Aunt Katie's great for imaginative play

A kiss for daddy

Cousins Sara and Christina are two special young ladies, that's for sure!

Every time I mention that we've been out to the ranch Sara laments that she didn't get to go and ride the 4-wheelers.  She is our consistent companion for the 4th of July celebration every year.

Matt explains how to use the 4-wheeler while Christina and Teresa pose for a picture.

Melanie gets to go on a real ride with Gramps to go visit the cows again

I'd say she enjoyed the ride, wouldn't you?

Then there was the blowing stuff up part of the day.  

Exploding cake post will follow once the video is loaded to the computer.

Stay tuned for our next episode...

Teaser list of episodes to come: the 4th of July (complete with exploding cake), a Colorado vacation, blackberry picking and jelly making (among other fun at the ranch/in the garden), some cake decorating, pickle making and who knows what else! 

I'm ready to rejoin the land of the living after sleeping, well, like a pregnant woman!  My intense need for 2-3 hour naps and 10 hours of sleep at night seems to be subsiding, so I'm attempting to catch up on the many household duties that have gone by the wayside while still accomplishing all that summer requires. 

I'm posting all this in hopes of giving myself some source of accountability to get started posting things again by the middle of next week (I have a very busy weekend ahead of me).  Your job is to hold me accountable.  Pester me (in a friendly sort of way) until I post stuff, and then give me the motivation to keep being productive by commenting once I do it (I hear praise for the mother is really good for a developing baby ;D ).  I'm counting on you, so don't let me down.

Until then, I will leave you with a cute picture of the girls from the 4th of July festivities out at Spring Creek.

Sitting on the back of the flatbed truck watching Gramps feed some cows.

Melanie is forming quite a fascination with bovines as of late.