Fourth of July Weekend, 2010

What a whirlwind weekend. I've yet to recover, feeling tired and crabby ever since the plane landed. And no, I am not pregnant!

Our weekend involved lots of family and friends in very little time. It involved puking on the side of the road, and in the back seat of our rental car. (by Hannah, not Eric ;)) There was a fish fry, fireworks, some swimming, family pictures, and our favorite parade of the year. I finally met baby Blair and saw Daniel walking. Too many memories and good times to recall in this mini briefing. So, in my typical fashion, I'll share a few photos that are a lame attempt to share our 4th of July Holiday.

First we'll start with a pic of a handful of the Ryans and Caleb....this was taken after our trip to the dentist, before the car-sick fiasco on the drive back to St. Louis. Hannah is getting in some practice, leaning out the window. :)

We had a few visitors Thursday night, but unfortunately, I did not break out my camera. I would have loved to get a few more pics of the Selter boys and Schoessel girls. Friday morning, a friend of mine, whom I hadn't seen in years, took family pictures for us. You can check those out here. I think they are simply amazing and I am so thankful to have reconnected with Rachel to have them done. Afterwards the boys snuck in a little swim time before heading out to Union for a fish fry at Grandma Debbie's.

We took Aidan along to the country and the boys had a blast playing in the creek, feeding the fish at the pond, and exploring through the tunnel.

They even had a minor lesson on shooting and gun safety.

Once back in St. Louis we joined an already in progress fireworks display. As usual, the family put together a pretty cool fireworks display that could rival any local town fair...although the picture isn't of much. :)

Saturday morning, we hit the parade.....my favorite time of year! Our crew keeps growing bigger and bigger every year....eventually, the entire block will be ours.

And this is where I stopped taking pictures. The weekend was becoming so hectic, I couldn't stop to take a pic. If you really want to get crazy, you can check out the 571 pictures taken on my sister's camera (or borrowed cam) on Saturday alone. You'll need a snapfish account to check them out. Otherwise, just trust in me that we had the best weekend in all the chaos that is our family. We LOVE St. Louis! Visiting from afar makes everything that much better while we are there.

By the way, when we returned to Phoenix, took the shuttle bus to the economy parking lot, exited at the last stop where we were parked.....our car door was open. Ooops! Needless to say, the car didn't start and we were stranded in a hot parking lot with our only shade at the bus stop. Airport assistance is a blessing. And many thanks to our amazing dog sitters who spoiled Molly to the fullest while we were gone! We are very thankful for our friends here in Phoenix too!