What a fun weekend!  I sure did have a good time…and let me show you why:

 That’s my big brother Brad.  That foxy lady next to him is Legs McCrackin…aka Tara (my gorgeous six foot tall sister in law).  They came to visit my family for the fourth.  Basically Brad is the funniest person I have ever met.  I have literally spouted, slurped, and spewed food out of all sorts of holes because of this guy.  He is a danger to orifices everywhere.     

 

And his two kids, Braden (7) and Clara (3) are more awesome than TBS reruns (Can I get a round of applause for Friends and Sienfield please?) .  First of all – these children only have one volume level.  And it is not dull roar.  Therefore nothing is boring.  And secondly – they are both first borns.  Don’t ask me me how that happened.  Nobody has a clue.  And lastly – they are huge.  And I do not ever exagerate about hugeness. 

Clara is only 3 but she is bigger than her cousin Cole (my sister’s almost five year old).  No kidding.  Huge.  And she is uber-girly.  She has mastered walking around in four inch heels, talks about her future wedding dress, and showed me her purse which has more sparkles and fur than a drag queen parade. 

Of course, I whipped the children into submission for a quick photo op.  You can tell that Cole constantly has a camera in his face…he totally mastered the ‘pensive glare’.  He is still working on the ‘Blue Steel’…it is almost ready for it’s grand reveal 🙂

Clara makes me melt.  I am a ball of goo in that three year old’s hands.  Right next to the other ball of goo. 

And what would Fourth of July be without gorging ourselves?  I mean seriously…I elect independence from thinness please.  Thank you George Washington.

 

The standard – deviled eggs.  I made 36.  They were gone.

 

My sister was a genius pulling out this watermelon-lemonade fountain…yum!  And don’t judge us for the meat.  We like it.  Alot.  Sure there were only 8 adults and 3 children eating…but if we ran out of food, the world would surely stop spinning on it’s axis.  Calamity would ensue.

  

And my mom made these fun veggie-bobs.  The funny flag cake was the kid’s doing.  I love the grapes instead of blueberries…that’s why it’s funny.  Not pictured is enough food to feed a small army.  

 

We wrapped up the night with sparklers.  No fireworks here.  The big boom scares the kiddos.  Which is crazy because they are much louder than the fireworks ever could be.  But I was fine with it. 

In the end, it was such a fun weekend…not too much, not too little.  Perfect.  Perfect being with family.  Perfect being with kids. Perfect being free.  I am so thankful for that.  Just think, if we were in China, Clara wouldn’t be here.  How sad!   And how crazy would it be if the freedom of speech didn’t exist…no blog post…poof!      

Sure, my family is loud and we tend to overeat and spend money on frivilous things like sparklers…but let me tell ya, I could never be more proud to be called an American.  We have the freedom to celebrate our freedom.  We have strong soldiers to protect us.  We have great teachers in our schools and doctors in our hospitals. And we have the freedom to steal a sparkler out of a child’s hand to draw your last name in the sky.  God Bless America.