more firecrackers

We had a great time at my parents' house on the 4th. The whole family was there...all 13 of us (plus Roseanne, the dog). We had yummy food and even yummier desserts.
And there were no injuries.
Erika warned Scott, "No face, no hands, no wedding!" In other words, she's not really into firecrackers and she's not interested in marrying a guy who recklessly maimed himself with a firecracker.

Jeremy was not his graceful self. Fortunately his ego was injured much more than his body. We all got a laugh out of this sight anyway.
And honest to goodness, he wasn't drinking. We'll just blame it on the slight slope of the yard.

The girls love Rosie!! She is a sweet little ball of fur.

Delaney found the "mother load"!!! At least it entertained her for a few minutes.

You gotta love that expression!! I hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends.

pre 4th of july celebration

Jeremy's uncle and aunt are visiting from California, so we had a pre-fourth barbeque and fireworks display.

It was a gorgeous evening (minus a little wind).

I was the big chicken...kept running for cover when I thought burning pieces of fireworks were coming at me. Something did hit me in the head. It MIGHT have been a June Bug, but I'm pretty sure it was something more dangerous!!

Some of my pictures are blurry. I'm still getting used to my camera and with night shots, the shutter was staying open too long, causing the blurs.

**********

We'll do more celebrating today. We're going to my parents' house this afternoon and will watch the city display from their yard.

I love the 4th!

I love feeling patriotic.

I love getting together with family and eating.

I like watching my family shoot off fireworks.

When I was a kid, we always went to my grandparents' house for the afternoon. Back then, it was illegal to shoot fireworks in most towns, but it was legal where they lived.

We loved looking for old cans and flowerpots and things we could blow up. Well, my uncles, brothers and boy cousins did that and I mostly watched.

I was a big ol' chicken, even back then!

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!!

calgon...take me away!!!

I think I officially know what the woman in that commercial meant!

It's probably hard for you to believe this, but these two beautiful girls fight like crazy.
They argue. They hit. They cry.
And I'm tired of it!!

Oh, they put on a good show for the camera. But in real life, they're only happy if the other is miserable.

I don't have a sister so I don't know how normal this is. I hope they grow out of it soon. I had such high hopes of having daughters who were best friends. Or at least enjoyed each other's company!

Any advice? Words of wisdom? Medication?
I'd love to hear your stories of sibling rivalry and how you deal with it.

15 months

Today Delaney is 15 months!!
She can walk and run.
She can play pat-a-cake.
She can wave bye-bye and blow kisses.
She has 13 teeth.
She likes to color. And she loves to swing.

Delaney doesn't talk much. But she listens and observes and takes it all in. When she wants something she points and grunts and then we play this wonderful guessing game of listing things she might want. And she responds by shaking her head no (for no) or giggling (for yes). So a typical conversation with Delaney might go like this:

me: do you want to read a book?
d: shakes head
me: do you want to play with your baby?
d: shakes head
me: do you want a drink?
d: shakes head
me: hmmmmm....do you want to swing?
d: huge grin and giggles

Yes, the girl loves to swing!!

it's a rough life

Oh the life of a wanna be photographer's child!
I guess life could be worse. A LOT worse.
Try to tell that to my kid!
Bri, Alli and Nate are usually cooperative during our "photo shoots". But with Delaney, I probably have ten of these shots for every smile.
I hope these make YOU smile!

And finally, that sweet face I love to plant kisses on!!!