Lovely Long Weekend

We traveled so much in May and June that the 4th of July weekend was the first one we spent at home as a family of four in months!  How fun and relaxing it is to just enjoy time spent together in your own house. 

We also got to do something else we enjoy - have friends over!  It's crazy, but now that the boys sleep at bedtime and the weather is good, it's like we've emerged from some kind of year-long baby-hibernation and we can host our friends again.  Last month, we bought a little fire pit so we can have a fire outside, so we've spent several nights sitting around our "campfire," making s'mores, and just talking.  Strange, isn't it, how one can actually talk to one's spouse when the computer, TV, and other electronic gadgets are out of sight - except the baby monitor!

That being said, did I take any photos of the friends, fire, or s'mores?  No, of course not!  I was having fun and didn't even think of the camera.  Hopefully, though, N will come through with of some great shots he took of the fireworks we could see from our driveway on Sunday night and I'll post them here.  (He said I could use them as long as they were not for profit!  So, please, don't send money.)

What you all really want are pictures of the boys, anyhow, so we did take a few.

Nathan's shirt says, "Diaper loading, 72% complete," Matthew's says "Barf Vader!"  These are baby shower gifts from one of Steve's co-workers that finally fit.  They crack me up!

I'm nearly losing my mind with their new game, throw-food-on-the-floor, so we move them outside sometimes so we can feed the birds, too.

Corn-on-the-cob, grilled chicken, and an American flag cookie for our Fourth of July dinner.  (A homemade gesture, since there was no way I was baking my grandma's red, white, and blue pie.  Maybe someday when I grow up.)

Steve had Monday off, so we made it "family fun day," and visited the zoo, stopping at their new African animals exhibit. The boys wore their monkey outfits just for this occasion- greeting the new Colobus Monkeys.

  We always stop at the fish tank to watch the tropical fish and catch a glimpse of the leopard shark - our favorite part of the zoo.

We have some fun stuff planned for this week, too, since our city's annual summer festival started Sunday and goes all week.  Hopefully we'll do a better job taking photos (and the boys will cooperate with their naps - we're missing the baby crawl-a-thon as I type!) and you can see us visiting our orchestra in the park, antique cars cruise night, and WWII bombers!