Ear piercing time!!

I've wanted for Halle to get her ears pierced for quite some time now. It has to do with dance. (For performances she has to wear earrings and the clip-ons really hurt.) Anyway, she has refused. She always says when I'm 6 and when she turned 6, it changed to 7 or sometimes 10. So on Sunday, out of the blue, she said she wanted to get her ears pierced. Of course, I told her we would go TOMORROW and we did!

Checking out which earrings to buy.

Of course she picked one of the most expensive!

I love this picture because it shows how nervous she was.

She was so brave! I really was suprised at how well she did.

The finished product.

We are both pretty excited that she has pierced ears. She was already trying to get me to buy every cute earring in the place! It was a strange feeling allowing some strangers to put holes in my daughters ears, but it is over now and hopefully they will heal well. She looks adorable. It's hard to believe that she is growing up so fast!!

Stadium Of Fire!!

This year we were lucky enough to get to go to the Stadium of Fire! Halle was thrilled to be able to see the Jonas Brothers. I just like to go for the tradition of it all. I think the patriotic parts are a great reminder of what a blessing it is to live in this wonderful country. I can't say that the boys felt "lucky" to be there, cause it is not "cool" to be a teenage boy at a Jonas Brothers Concert, but I was so thankful to have ALL my kids with me! That is a rare treat as they get older. All in all, it was a great night and a fun 4th of July!

This collage is the "before" picture. Okay, so they may not be excited, but the F16's were coming soon, so that would get them smiling a bit!

These pictures were taken during the concert. Halle and Parker and I seemed to be the only ones having fun. (Check out the picture of the boys, that is how they stayed for the whole concert.) I swear Halle did not sit down once. She was dancing up a storm. (Good thing she has a little rhythm!) I looked up once and saw here making the "I love you" sign to them! Where does she come up with these things? She's only 6!! I personally thought that Jonas did a great job! They really tried to cater to their audience much better than a certain performer last year!

They had a cool ceremony to retire a flag.

As always, the fireworks were spectacular! It felt like they were right above us. My one wish for attending this event is that my kids grow up with a sense of respect and gratitude for the country we live in. We truly are so fortunate and I hope they will always know that!

God Bless the USA!!

4th of July Parade

Thanks to Rod, Paul, and the boys for sleeping out in the pouring rain, at the parade route so that we could have a great spot to watch the parade. The kids love this part of our 4th of July festivities. Braden especially loves the sleeping out. I wonder if it all is worth it, but isn't it all about tradition and memories?!?!

We love the USA!!!

Braden has counted down the days until he could wear his soda hat!!

We loved the pirate ship float! We love hanging with friends. We loved seeing all the missionaries.

Rain or shine, we love the parade and the fun that comes with it!

Teddy Bear's Birthday!

So Halle got up one day last week and dressed her Teddy Bear in a birthday hat. While Halle and Braden were at swimming lessons, Parker and I went to the store. He kept talking about how it was Beary's Birthday. We decided to get a cake and celebrate! It was fun and kept them entertained for a little while.

This picture only shows one third of the party guests!

We made him a yummy cake. They decided he was turning 6, just like Halle!

He even blew out the candle on his cake.

Even Beary got a huge slice!

Like I said, it was a great way to kill a few hours. I loved to see their imaginations at work and I especially loved that it was summer, so we had time to do something that was absolutely unnecessary and fun!!!