The Fourth

I have decided that it is hard when a holiday falls in the middle of the week.  Especially a holiday such as the Fourth of July that brings friends and family together to do nothing more than celebrate!  It is about warm weather, festive red, white and blue decor, good food, cold beverages and relaxation!  There is nothing formal about the Fourth, there aren't presents, or big meals to prepare, it is casual BBQ's, picnics, music on the radio, pool parties and of course fireworks!  Just our style!

After a full day at work and 100 degree temperatures in Cedar Rapids we piled up the truck to have a picnic near Ellis Park where they host fireworks each year on the 3rd.  We met the Holub's and the Hahn's early in the evening so we could secure a prime spot to view the fireworks!

We passed the time with our picnic style dinner, fun activities, festive dress-up and sparklers!  The kids did such a nice job being patient for the fireworks show and at 9:30 it was time to watch as they lit up the sky!  Lila was a bit uncertain at first, she has always loved the fireworks, but this year the loud boom rattled her a bit, but before long she was settled in and enjoyed calling out the ones that had her favorite color scheme of pink and purple!

We headed home around 10:15 with a whipped little girl in the back.  Between the late night and the heat she was zonked out when we pulled in the driveway!  What a fun tradition this has become!

With the later evening last night, Lila woke up at 9:00 this morning!  It was nice for Mom and Dad to sleep in, too!!!  We had plans to head to Jason and Jen's to enjoy the sunshine by the pool, as it was be another hot one today!

We got to Jason and Jen's and Lila and Mike were immediately in the pool, ready to cool off!  With the temperatures the pool water was even in the high 80's!!

Everyone enjoyed a relaxing day and took dips in the pool on and off throughout the afternoon, only hopping out to grab a drink or something to eat!  Since we were able to enjoy the fireworks last night at Ellis we are happily sitting in the air conditioning at home and will be happy to watch the fireworks via the television tonight!!!  We hope you enjoyed your Fourth as much as we did!

Fun in the Sun!

IT.  IS.  HOT!  That is all I can say!  It has been around 100 degrees with the heat index for the past week and it doesn't show signs of stopping in the near future.  In order to beat the heat we headed to Guttenberg where our family cabin is for some good old fashioned fun in the sun!  I know I have shared this before, but Guttenberg is where I spent all of my summers with my family doing the same things that we now share with Lila.

We only made a day trip, so up and back in a jiffy, but we still had enough time to let the sun bake in and have a lot of laughs and smiles throughout the day!

All Aboard!

She LOVES to be on the boat!

Captain & Co-captain!



Love my Auntie Jen!



First up - Celia, Ruby, Carson & Annie

Soakin' up the rays!

Fearless Riders!

Sisters!

First tube ride!!!

Hop on Daddy!  I can't go without you!

Holding on tight w/ Dad!

Other than sitting in the house with the air conditioning cranked up, there really isn't a better way to beat the heat than to be on the water!  I am so thrilled that Lila will grow-up on the Mighty Mississippi with family (and her Grandpa Smith), just like I did!

Three Year Pictures

We got Lila's pictures taken the day after she turned three!  Our friends Heidi & Troy of Studio U Photography were able to capture some really beautiful images even though Lila was not in the mood to cooperate! 

A special thank you to Heidi & Troy for helping to capture the beautiful essence of this amazing little three year old girl!  To us she is the most beautiful thing in the world and the photographs help to soldify these precious moments in time!

Special Guy, Special Day

This weekend was all about that most important guy in our life...Daddy/Mike!  I decide to take a couple of days off work to make this a nice, long weekend and spend a little extra time with the family!  We had a big weekend planned!
Friday started with Mike and Lila meeting Brandon and Henley at the splash pad in Center Point.  This was Lila's first time at the splash pad and she had a great time, any time spent with Henley is a fun time!

Friday evening found the Holub's and the Hahn's at our house for a get together.  The guys just thought it was the gang getting together like any other time, they had no idea that there was  surprise in store!  The ladies had been planning their Father's Day surprise since around Christmas time!  A lot of thought went into this gathering, we sent lots of emails back and forth, got together for lunch, spent time searching for ideas on the internet, all for these wonderful men who are the best Dad's to our little ones.

After our wonderful dinner of homemade pizza, salad and fruit, it was time for the big reveal!  We took the kids down to one of our basement bedrooms where we had been hiding all the loot and got them changed into their outfits, grabbed the very special dessert and their handmade invitations and off we went to surprise the Dad's!

The Dad's were all enjoying themselves on the deck as the group of kids walked out and said "let's go racing!"  They took their invites over to their Dad and the boys, a bit confused, anxiously read what they were in for!  On October 6th they will be participating in the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience at the Newton Speedway.  Mike will get behind the wheel of a real life race car and he gets to share the experience with two of his closest friends!  The guys were shocked and very excited -- mission accomplished!

Surprise!!!

The drivers & their pit crew!

Happy (early) Father's Day!

Saturday night found us heading to Vinton to watch the highly anticipated alumni football game between Center Point - Urbana and Vinton-Shellsburg.  Mike couldn't have been more excited to play in the alumni football game this year with one of his good friends, Josh.  They started practicing 10 weeks ago and each time Mike woudl come home with less anxiety about what he was getting himself into at the age of 35 and more excitement about being able to play for his high school team again, under the lights!  We were a bit nervous that the rain would keep them from playing, but shortly after 7:00 they kicked off!

I would argue that Mike had the largest cheering section!  We had a lot of family and friends there to cheer him on!  If you know Mike at all, you know that sports are part of his soul and to be on the field again, not only playing football, but for his high school team, that was a big deal!  Not knowing Mike in high school, it was a lot of fun to watch him and Lila couldn't have been more proud of her Dad! 

 

I must be honest.  Lila was SO excited to go watch Daddy play football, but she was completely frustrated with me when we got there only to find out that Daddy was in full football gear with a big helmet on and when I would say to her, "there is Daddy, he is number 29," she would look at me like what the heck are you saying, I don't see my Dad out there. 

Enjoying a little in-game entertainment!

Lila & Henley, no their outfits were not planned!

Ruby enjoying the concessions!

Mike's littlest fan, Sloan!  Looking so cute in her black & gold!

The Pointers won the game 9-0!  We were so excited for Mike to come running across the field with a W!!!  Winning definitely makes the whole experience that much better and the bumps and bruises he was sporting the next day a little less painful!

Good game!

Way to go Daddy!!!

When Mike came over to his cheering section he looked so happy and Lila darn near jumped in his arms!  Everyone was so eager to hear whether or not this was a good idea after all or if he got out there and he decided that this was actually a bad idea?!  While he said he was definitely not as limber as he was when he was 18, he loved every minute of being back on the field and is already making plans to do it again next year!

Daddy's biggest cheerleader!

Dylan checking out Mike's helmet

Ruby's next!

Last but not least...Celia!

Our Father's Day was spent relaxing around the house.  We intended on going to Jason and Jen's to celebrate, but we have a little one who is under the weather, so it was best to keep her home.  So, the three of us made the best of our day, enjoying each other!  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband, but even more than that a wonderful partner.  Lila truly couldn't have a better Daddy.  From the moment we found out that we were having a baby Mike has been 100% devoted to his little girl.  Just when I thought I loved him as much as I could, he became a Daddy and I loved him more than I ever knew I could and as I watch their relationship grow stronger every day, I love him even more.

As I sit here and write, my Dad is half way around the world on a Baltic cruise.  So, it is important to me to be sure to send a special Happy Father's Day to him on this very special day, the day that is set aside for those most important men in our lives. 

Happy Father's Day to Mike, to my father, to our grandfathers and all of the other important men that have blessed us by being in our lives.  We love you!