Fourth of July Fun!

Okay...yes...I am stilling playing catch-up (and I think I will be for awhile!) We were so excited that Handsome was able to be home for the Fourth of July! It's just not quite the same without him! Kimmy and I, with our long hair, have not quite mastered (or even started) the art of the grill! It just wouldn't be the fourth without barbecue! We also love to have him here for everything else associated with the holiday...but especially the barbecue!


We love to make cupcakes for holidays (or cookies...or cake...or ANYTHING sweet!) The kids got to decorate patriotic sprinkled cupcakes. They had a lot of fun decorating them. Missy was so careful with her decorating...


...Stevie could have cared less about the decorating...just let him EAT them as fast as can!

We always have a tradition of buying LOTS of glowsticks for the fourth. (That and those little poppers you can throw) I watched my nephew accidentally step on a sparkler one year and it went right through his foot :( I have never let the kids play with them...It was horrible! They love the glowsticks because you can do so much with them--they wear them, throw them, hide them...the list goes on and on! Missy usually ends up with a ton of them before the night is through!

This time she had made a belt, crown, bracelets, necklace, anklets and more! They usually end up having light-saber fights too

When we lived in Washington, the base handed out fireworks 3-D glasses at their Fourth of July fest...makes the fireworks really beautiful! We saved them every year so we have a pretty good stash of them LOL! We still use them at whatever show we go to (and they make laser shows at the planetarium phenomenal too!) We were lucky enough that we can see the big fireworks show the base here provides from our own front lawn! Then we spent lots of time watching all the traffic from the cars that went to the big fireworks show!

The girls look pretty relaxed watching the show too! Maybe they were just full from barbecuing for lunch AND dinner! Mmmmm...hot dogs, hamburgers, macaroni salad and watermelon! Gotta love the fourth!

Here's handsome and I looking like the old folks relaxing in their rocking chairs! Grow old with me...the best is yet to be!!!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home...

...or...Where the heck has Heidi been? She hasn't posted in FOREVER!!! LOL!

I know...I know...as I am reminded SO often...my blog is really out of date lately! I got out of the habit while I was down with my foot and I keep MEANING to update it...I just never get to it! So pretend today is January 1st and this is my resolution! I have to get back in the habit!

Steven came home for R&R in June for two weeks and it was WONDERFUL!! We had lots of fun just being together as a FAMILY! It is sooooo much nicer to see them in person than just on a webcam! (although the web cam is DEFINATELY an improvement since the first time he went to Iraq during Desert Shield/Storm!!) It was SO much fun to go to the airport and pick him up. I felt like a teenager getting ready for a date LOL! "Is my hair okay?" "Does this outfit look okay?" "Will he still think I am beautiful?" I think I drove the kids nuts! Needless to say...he liked what he saw! I love that man!

I took a ton of fun pictures of our days of playing...and will try to post a few more here and there! (Yes, mom...this is mostly for you...I know you LOVE the pictures!) The kids were very excited to have their cameras they got for their birthdays. Kimmy's birthday isn't until January...guess what she wants? We'll have more pictures of every event than any family should EVER have! Now I need to find the time to scrapbook a few of them!