July 4th was so weird this year since it was on a Tuesday. Amarillo changed it's July 4th fireworks show to Saturday July 1st and moved it from close to our house to downtown. So we celebrated America's Independence Day from July 1st - July 4th with lots of fun things and first for the kids to do!
Saturday Drew was still recovering from a knee scope two days before so the kids and I headed downtown to the Amarillo Community Market and Food Truck alley to see what all the city had planned for the days celebrations. We met Mimi, Aunt Kelsey, Aunt Neeley, Uncle Lane, Norah, Merritt and Emma all downtown in the heat and sunshine to find some fun. The kids snacked on fun foods and danced to a band's rehearsal for the evenings events while we sat and watched with our deep fried corn dogs. That night with Drew in tow we ate burgers and went over to Aunt Tammy's for dessert while the kids played in the yard.
Monday we took the kids over to Lake Meredith in Drew's old stomping grounds of Fritch, TX to go on the boat with Aunt Carrie and BJ. This was the first time Everett and Haven had ever been on a boat or to the lake. Had it been a year ago I don't think Everett would have been as excited but he has since turned into quite the little water boy and was so excited! Haven has been a water lover from the very beginning and we could hardly keep her contained to the boat when necessary to keep her from going into the water alone. Neither of the kids can swim at this point and I was a constant mess worrying about them being in the water but thankfully we all had a blast and enjoyed our time. Everett quickly discovered that he could jump off the back of the boat into his Dad's arms and this provided him with endless amounts of fun for the day. We blew up an inter tube and let him sit on it while we were anchored in the water and he really liked it but much preferred to be in the water. I did however get him to ride the tube with me as we were slowly pulled behind the boat and he was not a big fan of this yet. I am sure one day he will be an awesome tuber like his Mom and Aunt Nene. We spent some time on a sandy beach and cooked hot dogs and during this time Haven loved to run as fast as she could into the waves. She puts her head down, arms back and runs as fast as she can like she is trying to fly and it is hilarious on most occasions but scared me to death as she ran head first into the water. I was on constant guard keeping her safe from falling face first in the water. We finished the night with an amazing fireworks show over the lake!
For the actual 4th of July we slept in, Haven and I went to get my Mom and visit Gran-Nana before we went over to Aunt Tammy's for a burger cookout. Everett and Haven were both wearing their red white and blue as we ate and played in the backyard lighting sparklers, and popping confetti- crackers. They kids devoured red white and blue cupcakes and cookies as we sat around watching them and listening to the neighbor's loud Rod Stewart playing from across the fence. It was a great peaceful and fun way to end what felt like a week long celebration of the 4th of July!
