Happy Birthday, America!

What could be a more American activity on the 4th of July than to go to a baseball game and fireworks?  The temperatures had been awesome, it was fairly inexpensive and it just sounded fun.  

On our way to Tulsa for the game, Jon had me read aloud this speech by Rush Limbaugh's dad.  Jon had heard about it on a radio program, read it himself and wanted the rest of us to read/hear it.  I know that July 4th is the day that the Declaration of Independence was signed, thus giving birth to the United States of America.  Sadly, beyond that, I didn't know very much.  The speech is lengthy, but definitely worth the time.  Whether you like Rush Limbaugh or not, you really should read this speech!  It was so neat to learn about some of the men, other than John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, that risked and/or gave their lives for the freedom that we take for granted.

As we were walking from our car to the ball field we heard a few rumbles of thunder.  We may have even seen a flash of lightning or two.  It was off in the east, so I figured we were good.  These things, generally, move from west to east, so it had to be moving in the other direction.  Well...that wasn't the case.  

We found a good spot to sit and got all situated.  Luke was itching to play at the playground, so Jon took him while hung out with Ben and Abby.  It wasn't long before the biggest raindrops (they were huge!) I have ever felt started pelting our heads.  

The field was quickly covered with a tarp and we just sat around and waited it out.  Some of the team members chose to make the best of the torrential rain to have a little bit of fun.  It was really fun to watch them run and slide.

Thankfully I had packed a few towels in case Luke ended up playing at the splash pad at the ball park, because I was able to stay fairly dry by holding one of them over my head.  Abby used one to protect her white shirt that could have made things slightly embarrassing.  (:

The rain didn't show any signs of letting up any time soon.  I just knew the game was going to be cancelled and our 4th of July plans would be ruined.

 

 The rain probably lasted a good 20-30 minutes before it finally passed by.

Once the rain clouds were gone for good, the tarp came off and we were able to watch the baseball game!  YAY!!!

I took an over-abundance of pictures at the game, but there are so many that I love that I decided to share all of them!  :)

 

 

 

Luke was REALLY not a fan of the fireworks after the game! I cried through the whole thing with his hands covering his ears.  Poor little guy!  I, however, thought the fireworks were awesome!  We were so close!  It was so cool!

I can't even express how much fun we had at the game!  It was SO MUCH FUN!!  I think we may just have a new 4th of July tradition!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!

Spontaneity Is The Spice Of Life, Right?

Sooo...the previous day was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  We all just want to forget how miserable it was.  It's time to move on!  So here we go!

Jon wasn't supposed to be in town.  His trip got cancelled, which meant he got to be home.  (Which also meant this was the start of his week+ off of work!)  We decided that since we had the bonus of having him home and the added bonus of the gorgeous weather we have been having, we better take advantage of the time. 

The weather was perfect for a little drive out to Osage Hills State Park.  We love Osage Hills, we just don't get out the very often.  It is so pretty there.  There are trails, a river, great picnic areas, waterfalls (small, but waterfalls just the same), a great playground...it's just great.

 

 For some reason, none of the kids had ever been to this area at Osage Hills.  They had no idea what they would find at the end of the path.

They were pleasantly surprised!  

As usual, there had to be a little bit of drama.  Ben found a trail and wanted to take it down to the river.  It was taking a long time for him to catch up to us, so Jon went to look for him.  My mom senses went into overdrive and immediately started thinking bad thoughts.  I can't help it.  You hear stories all the time about how a kid wanders off and is lost for a good long time.  Just about a week prior there were reports of a mountain lion in our area.  I hate having such terrible thoughts, but, as a mom, I don't know how you avoid them.  I tried not to freak out as I kept Abby and Luke while Jon went looking for Ben.  I didn't want them to worry, but was saying quick little prayers as they admired the waterfalls, the beautiful sky and a dragonfly.  Thankfully, I heard familiar voices and knew that everything/everyone was ok.  Ben, somehow, made it to the opposite side of the river, but he was good.  Just being a typical teenage boy.  Grrr!!!

It took a little while for the anger and frustration to subside, but we were all able to move on.

We didn't intend to get wet, but that's what happened.  And it wasn't a bad thing.  The boys all had so much fun!  Spontaneity is the spice of life, right?

Since Ben was already wet, he wanted to do a little bit more exploring.  We saw some guys swinging on a rope swing and jumping into the water, so we knew that it had to get deep at some point.  He found it!  He loved it!  When Luke saw that Ben was swimming, he wanted in on some of the action too.  (:

 After spending quite a bit of time down at the river, we decided to move on and go play for a little while at the park.  Luke was not happy to leave the water...

But he was happy to play at the playground.

Jon and Abby did a little bit of batting practice and played a little bit of catch.

Ben thought swinging might help dry his jeans.  Ha Ha!!

Swinging didn't help much, so he opted to try covering himself in the hot rubber mulch.  Surely that would do the trick!  Not so much...

Look at these cuties!  They weren't thrilled to sit for a few pictures, but I couldn't resist!

Abby asked to borrow the camera while we were driving home.  I had no idea what was going on in the back seat, but there was a lot of laughing going on.  I can see why!  I love these silly kids!

After being home for a while, I discovered that there were fireworks happening in Tulsa later that night.  We had been to these particular fireworks before and they were great!  I was a little disappointed that we didn't know that they were happening and that we weren't able to be there.  When I mentioned it to Jon, he said, "Well, why can't we go?"  Ummm...it was the usual excuse that it's all the way in Tulsa.  It's a long drive, which means gas money.  Apparently Jon didn't care.  So... we ate dinner, packed up and headed to Tulsa.  There's that spontaneity again.

I don't think we would have been so gung ho to go if the weather hadn't been so perfect.  It was unseasonably cool for the beginning of July, so we had to take advantage of the opportunity to go watch good fireworks and not sweat our tails off!

My firecrackers (:

Me and my man! (:

Crazy kids!

Believe it or not, we were all chilly while waiting for the fireworks to start!  When has that ever happened?!  Never!!  I refuse to complain!!

I love fireworks!  They were great!

This was one of my favorite days that we have spent together as a family in a very long time!  The weather was amazing!  The togetherness was fun!  The laughter was abundant!  Need I say more?  This was the best way to start off a week of "vacation"!  (Maybe I should call it a 'staycation'.)

I love my family!!

4th of July

Our family loves watching "A Capitol 4th" every year on PBS before heading out to local fireworks.  What could be better than watching it on tv???  Well, being there, of course!

 Sitting up close so we can get great pictures of the host!

Listening to those amazing heralding trumpets!

No, we weren't really there.

We watched from the comfort of our own home.
But one of these days I think it would be amazing to be in Washington D.C. to see "A Capitol 4th" live!!

 Due to being in the car for 14 hours on the 4th, we opted not to go out to fireworks.  We watched the amazing ones on t.v. and Jon and Ben did a (very) few of their own. 

Luke even got to pick out one of his own this year.  Unfortunately Luke is still terrified of fireworks (not the big, far away ones!) and didn't even get to see what his cool tank did...

This was just about the extent of our fireworks.  There were a few that went up in the air, but nothing huge.  I missed going out to see good fireworks, but I was happy to just be at home after a long day on the road.  At least Jon and Ben got to satisfy their inner pyro!  :)

4th Of July Weekend

Jon's parents came down for a visit for 4th of July weekend. It was just the motivation I needed to clean house (Because that just doesn't happen as often as it should!) and the permission to make some fun, festive treats!

They were just as fun to make as the were to eat!
Of course, we had the typical summer cookout food too!

After dinner we headed over to the hotel that Ken and Jeanie were staying at so the kids could go swimming. A nice break from the blazing heat outside!
Of course, if you're in a hotel, you have to jump on the beds, right?!

Or spin in the chairs until you fall out! (Yes, Abby almost fell out from spinning so fast!)


On the actual holiday we didn't have anything planned. We talked about going to the lake, but with the heat and the crowds that were sure to be there, we just never made it. We decided that we would go bowling! How much more American can you get on the 4th of July without going to the lake?

Tiny bowling shoes are just way too adorable!

Check out that form!

Luke really enjoyed bowling! For a little while anyway. He got bored with it and would rather go play in the arcade. Go figure.

I just love this picture! Luke loved to watch to see how many "bullets" he knocked down! Too cute!

Bowling superstars, we are not!

Since we didn't know where else to go for fireworks, we headed downtown for the Bartlesville fireworks display. We had been two years ago and were really disappointed. But, again, we didn't know where else to go.

My sweet 4th of July kiddos!

I got festive and decided to make Abby and Luke special shirts for 4th of July. I think they turned out pretty cute!
Luke thought his shirt looked like fireworks! I loved it!

Cheese!


Counting stars while waiting for the fireworks show to start.




The fireworks were still a bit disappointing, but they were better than nothing! Next year we will have to do some asking around to find some good fireworks!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!