sparks will fly!

Wow. I really can't believe how long I've been away from my blog. I've been "meaning" to write every day since we've been home from our vacation, but I just haven't gotten around to it. Rob has been home a lot more often over the last few weeks, but our summer is slipping away, so I've just been trying to soak up time with my family while we have it! We've so enjoyed our extra time together!

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In an effort to catch-up, I'll just hit the high points of the last few weeks, starting with the 4th of July! Independence Day is one of my favorites...I really love all things patriotic, and we always have good time on the 4th with family and friends. This year was no different!

We always go home-home for the 4th and pretty much do the same exact thing every year :)  I love this tradition and would be perfectly happy to do it forever! We went to the annual parade of a nearby neighborhood, but only caught the end of it due to our little firecracker's morning nap.

 They have a special areas for dogs to get treats & "swim," so we pretty much camped out there as Jaqs is OBSESSED with puppies. She was pretty upset that we wouldn't let her swim in their dog pool though...crazy kid!

We visited with buddies at the parade for awhile then went back to our friends house to swim and have a picnic lunch by the pool!

Once everyone was sufficiently worn out from that fun, it was time to head home for naps to rest up for the evening's festivities! Jaqs had a wardrobe change, and can I just say that I LOVE this little romper?! One of my favorites, for sure.

We attempted to get a "Four Generation" picture with my mom & grandma (J's namesake), but, as you can see, it didn't pan out so well. Ha! Just keeping in real.

We went back to our friends' house that evening for a cook-out, and lots and LOTS of playtime for the kiddos! We all ate A TON and had a great time.

 Holidays and special occasions are so much more fun (and more exhausting, too ;)) with kiddos! I don't know what changes about them, but I really love celebrating with my trio. Jaqs mostly loves that she gets to sneak a sweet treat on said occasions....ha! She was as happy as a lark with that funfetti cookie in hand, and WHO could blame her?!

Hope to be back on my blog-game now, friends! I've missed y'all!!