Happy Independence Day!

As many of you, we had a busy weekend leading up to the 4th of July!  Caeden and I started last Monday reading lots of books about this holiday.  We talked about the flag, the colors of the flag, and fireworks...and of course, explaining the reason we do all these things (in two-year-old terms).  Now, everytime he sees an american flag, he yells "Flag!!"  And everytime he sees or hears fireworks he says, "BOOM!"  He saw some extra bottle rockets sitting in our garage this morning, pointed at them and yelled "BOOM!"  So I think he's already starting to enjoy this holiday.  The last few days were very busy for us and I have lots of fun pictures.  So I'm going to quickly re-cap each day!

THURSDAY
While mommy was babysitting a baby boy for a few hours, Caeden played outside in the water with Daddy!  Caeden's "new" thing is that he likes to stand on the side of the pool and jump in by himself.  Notice he doesn't have a swimsuit on...This is just how Daddies think! :)

FRIDAY
We woke up Friday morning and went to play group at the Bentonville Splash Pad, which is FREE!  Caeden had fun running in the water and having snacks with his buddies!  After lunch and a nap, we drove to Joplin.  Since Reid was out of town for the night, we went to spend the night with Nana and Papa (Ashley's parents).  *Sorry - no pictures from this day.

SATURDAY
We spent the morning with Nana & Papa, mostly playing outside.  After nap, Caeden got to see his Nonnie for a little bit (Reid's mom).  Then, it was back to Northwest Arkansas.  We went to a birthday party for Caeden's friend, Kyle.  It was an ice cream theme and was super fun and super cute!  This was Caeden's first time to have an ice cream cone and he loved it!

The birthday boy - Kyle!

SUNDAY

We spent Sunday afternoon with Reid's family.  His mom, grandmother, and brother came over for the afternoon to celebrate an early July 4th!  We had a big lunch, played outside with bubbles, did some fireworks, and just played with some toys inside.  It was a fun, but relaxing day with family.

 Showing off the parachute he caught!

 Uncle Rhett helping Caeden pull a confetti popper.

Throwing some Snappers - These were Caeden's FAVORITE!

MONDAY - JULY 4TH, 2011

In the afternoon, we went over to our friends Trent & Sarah's house to spend the 4th together.  Caeden & Zoe (their 2-year-old little girl) had fun swimming!  Caeden would lay on his belly, move his arms and say, "I mimming, Mommy! I mimming!"  (mimming = swimming)  We had a yummy dinner, played outside some more, and then did some fireworks when it got dark.  Caeden also got to stay up until 9:30 and watch the "real" fireworks in the sky.  This was his first time to do this, since he was too little last year.  He loved them and each time said, "Boom!"  Overall, we had a BUSY, but FUN weekend!  Hope yours was just as great!

Reid pulling the kids on a large cardboard box!

This was hilarious to watch!

Zoe attempting to pull Caeden...She didn't get very far! HA!