4th of July

As per tradition, we made our way up to Luther for the 4th of July weekend.  We realized this year, that this is our tenth year in a row going...I can't believe it has been that long.

This was the first year that Paul's brand new cabin was all done and ready for us!  I have to say that it is absolutely gorgeous.  It's 3 stories with a gorgeous wrap-around deck that overlooks that landscape.  It's awesome because there are always deer in the mornings.  I have to say one of my favorite things is the finished, walk-out basement.  It has a beautiful bar, pool table, big screen TV w/ surround sound, and video game machines.  We spent most of our nights down there shooting pool and having a blast.

We left Thursday morning and rolled in just before dinner time.  The weather was pretty nasty...lots of rain, so we ate dinner, and spent the evening checking out our new accommodations.  Friday was SOOOO humid!!!  The rain the night before that that morning made it nearly unbearable to be outside.  It was like you could cut the air with a knife.  Saturday was devoted to heading into town and checking out the fair.  We ate a TON of elephant ears.  We bought so many that the guy gave us an extra one.  Guess who ended up eating it.  I'll give you a hint:

The kids got to go on a bunch of horse rides.

And we had a blast people watching.  I never get sick of checking out all the strange people that live there.  Wow.  The kids also got some air brush tattoos which they were absolutely psyched for.  Cayden was super excited about the spider he got on his calf...although he actually wanted a skull & crossbones, but mom said no.  This is what Trina picked:

And, of course she picked pink and black for the colors!  Then, after a few hours down town we were all exhausted from the heat and humidity and decided to head back to the cabin.  Paul decided it was time to pull out the slip n' slide and let the kids run off some of their energy.

The girls had a blast, but Trina biffed off the side of the slide and scraped her butt all up.  Although, it couldn't have hurt too much because it didn't slow her down at all.  Then, the girls somehow convinced Ryan and Heather to take them all swimming.  Then the went on a bunch of golf cart rides.  Paul and Brad even let them all take a turn driving.   

On Sunday we all woke up early, had some breakfast, and got ready to head out swimming for the day.  We pulled out the tubes, super soakers, sunscreen, and suits.  While the adults got everything packed up, the kids decided to be goofy out on the deck playing with the snakes that Paul bought them (it's a yearly tradition).

I really wish Trina would let me french braid her hair more often.  I think she looks SO cute with her hair like that!!!  We loaded up the van with chairs, blankets, & a cooler and then headed down for a swim.  It was hot out, but it was absolutely beautiful and the water was just the right temperature.  Ryan tried to teach Trina and Corie to swim for a while, but he wasn't exactly successful.  Corie gave up.  Trina caught on to the side-stroke a little bit, but still had a really hard time keeping her head above water. 

The adults started out with the super soakers.  It was hilarious running around the pond spraying the kids.  They kept trying to get us back, but really, you can't compete with a super soaker that shoots 70 feet.  After a while, we let the kids take over the super soakers, but they were a bit too big for them the use very effectively.

None of the kids wanted to go fishing, but they wanted to go frog and toad hunting.  Sarah and Allison both found toads that they carried around for a while and Cayden found a frog but it scared him and made him cry.  This picture of Sarah and her toad is just too cute to pass up:

Everyone just hung out in the sun for a while before we packed it up and headed back to the cabin.

 All of the girls brought their DSs, so during down time they all had a lot of fun syncing their games and playing together. 

 

Finally, Sunday evening meant it was time for fireworks.  I am never EVER disappointed with the fireworks in Luther.  And again, then were fantastic this year.  As per tradition, we made a trip down into town and bought a bunch of glow necklaces.  The kids had a lot of fun running around and playing with them before the fireworks started:

After the fireworks, Grandpa started a fire and the kids all roasted marshmallows and make smores.  The kids went to bed WAY after their bedtime and the adults stayed up.  The fireside chatting didn't last as long as normal...the three of us pregnant ladies bailed early to go to bed.  But don't worry, Ryan and Grandpa stayed up all night stoking the fire.  LOL.  And, that brings us to Monday and it was time to go home.

We got home just before dinner time, we we all decided to get dinner together.  We went to Deadwood Grill and Trina tried everything on the Wild Thing.  It cracked me up because she liked it all, and even took seconds of the buffalo meatballs, duck tenders, and venison sausage!  There were a TON of illegal fireworks going off around our house on Monday night.  I had fun standing outside watching them for a while, but then it got a little annoying when they were still blowing up everywhere after 11 o'clock and I just wanted to go to bed.

Finally, this week is all about 4th of July at camp.  Today, Trina was supposed to dress up in red, white & blue.  This is what she came up with: