4th of July

Here are some pictures taken on the 4th and 5th of July. Hayley was actually requesting that I take some of these pictures so I couldn't turn that down. So, yet again there are a ton of Hayley. I was able to get Tyler to sit for one picture which is a miracle.

We had a fun 4th and 5th of July. We were able to go up north and spend it with family. We had a bar-b-q at my parents house on the evening of the 4th and then did some backyard fireworks. Lots of fun! On the 5th we got together with some dear friends of ours and enjoyed a relaxing morning at the park. After that we were able to spend the rest of the afternoon with Derek's family celebrating his mom and dad's 50th anniversary(forgot the camera..my bad). We went to chuck a rama and to a movie. It's always a treat to spend time with family. It was a fun and eventful weekend and hopefully a memorable one for our kids.

Hayley in the slide at the park.

Met our friends at this park. I LOVED the flags placed in the shape of a star. I took a zillion pictures of the flag. So grateful for our flag and what it represents.

The 4th of July for me would not be the same without cherries. That is what we did every year for the 4th of July we worked in the orchard. As a child I didn't enjoy that. I wanted to go to the parade and fireworks etc. But we always had to pick cherries. Grateful though for the lessons I learned from picking cherries. We did get our 2 oldest up early on the 5th so they could pick a few cherries for us to take home. It made me wish we had an orchard so they could learn the valuable lessons I learned from being raised on one.

She is such a poser sometimes.

Picking raspberries...she loves my parents garden!

Dancing with cousins

She has always had a LOVE for swings. This is one of the greatest swings in my parents backyard. So fun!

The miracle shot...Tyler doesn't usually let me take his picture.

This is a little photo shoot I did with Hayley. Loved the red chair.

Cherry Hill

Each summer we plan a time to go to Cherry Hill with my family. This year it ended up being around the 4th of July. We had such a fun time and especially enjoyed spending it with family. I took lots of pictures of Hayley because she was the one I spent most of my time with. Tyler I hardly saw all day as he spent the day with the older cousins and had a total blast. Emily enjoyed the lazy river and I was able to get a few shots of her floating down the river.

We had our Wyatt moment at the top of one of the slides. Derek, Em, Hay and I were waiting in line when I saw a big yellow butterfly. I pointed it out to them and then the butterfly turned and flew toward us. It was our Wyatt moment. I know he is aware of us and what we are doing and he sends us those moments to let us know he is there. With that said I can't even describe the ache I feel not having him physically with us. It's just plain hard. Seeing all the little boys running around and enjoying the water is hard I won't lie it's difficult. But I do hope and look forward to the day when it's my turn with Wyatt and it will be wonderful.

The next day we spent at Boondocks and loved it. Some great memories were created that day. I didn't take any pictures because I was having too much fun with laser tag and all the other fun stuff we did. We got to watch fireworks that night which is one of my most favorite things in the world. Love fireworks!!

Here are a ton of pictures I took at Cherry Hill and again mostly of Hayley. I love to see the joy in her face it does my heart good.

Big forehead shot.

Ty with his cousin.

Derek watching people flouting down the lazy river.

Some of the group in the Lazy river.

Em floating down the river.

Hayley loves water!

4th of July

Love our flag!

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. We did so much and got to spend time with friends and family which makes it even more wonderful. I took lots of pictures as usual. I will post them soon.

I'm so grateful for the wonderful country we live in and the for the freedoms we enjoy. Grateful for all those that sacrificed their lives so we can have what we have to day and for all of those sacrificing so much right now for our country. I'm so proud to be an American!

Wyatts garden

Here are some recent pictures of Wyatt's garden. It has done quite well with the heat and I have enjoyed it so much as I look out my kitchen window.

Garden

Love having a garden!

Mother daughter

In our church there are different programs for the youth. Emily is part of the Activity Day group and enjoys the fun activities they get to do each month. A couple of weeks ago they had a mother daughter activity/dinner. Before we left I had Tyler take a quick picture of Emily and I.

It was a fun night of getting to know each other better. I love my Emily and enjoy spending time with her. I'm so grateful for each of my children. They are my everythings. I feel so blessed that they are a part of my life...here on earth and in heaven.

Hollyhocks part 2

I just can't get enough of these Hollyhocks..."For the beauty of this earth". So grateful for the beauties of this earth. This may be one of my new favorite flowers.