July 4th Celebrations

Our July 4th was spent celebrating Kaia's birthday, my brother's birthday and of course the traditional Fourth of July activities. I can't believe that Kaia turned 4. It just doesn't seem possible! She is such a joy and has been such a blessing to us. I really appreciate having her in our family. She is so much fun, such a girl and brings a totally different element to our family- a very welcomed one at that! It has been amazing to watch her grow and come to know that we are her family. To see her trust and love without reservation has been awesome. It has taken time to accomplish this, although in retrospect, it really didn't take long. I know that her Ayi gave her a great deal of love her first two years, her little personality is a testiment to that. Every gift she received this year was pink, right down to the flowers her daddy brought her! She was beaming over every detail.

On Friday, we headed over to Grandma Deb's for a barbeque. Scott took the kids swimming while grandma and I cooked. We ate dinner and had homemade ice-cream for dessert. (Thanks Daddy for the yummy vanilla ice-cream!) As night approached, we drove to a baseball field and waited for the fireworks. We weren't sure if they would happen or not as our Arizona monsoons were in full swing and the winds were blowing. It made for a nice evening though and gave us a reprieve from the heat! Yea! The kids were having fun just running around in the grass and dancing to the music that was playing. Finally, the fireworks started and much to mine and grandma's surprise we found that we were almost right under them!!! We sat in a nearby field, one directly to the left of where the fireworks were being set off. With the wind blowing right in our direction, everything seemed to be coming AT us!! Yikes! Jack and Kaia started screaming and crying while Josiah just sat with Scott and took it all in. No fear in him whatsoever! We scooted back a little and I kept vigil as embers landed around us, no joke. Needless to say, I did not fully enjoy that night! Scott said we were fine, to stop worrying that I was making the kids a wreck. That's the only reason we stayed. If it were up to me, I would have moved way back! It was the best view we'll ever have of a fireworks display!