Favorite Holiday Shenanigans

The fourth of July is my absolute favorite holiday, and I'm definitely working on passing that on to the next generation. If only because I indulged Finley's pleas for (completely ridiculous) matching dresses.

But also, we celebrated in exactly the way one should celebrate the birth of the greatest nation in the world, minus the fact that I completely forgot the apple pie. 

We hit a baseball game (Woodpeckers, natch)

where we got to hang out with this guy

and catch a bang-up fireworks show with friends, way past our bedtimes.

We spent hours and hours at the pool and the splash pad with the neighborhood Pool Gang;

and, in what has become a beloved tradition, we partied with the Ryans.

Complete with the dangerous fireworks we expect from such a crowd.

The day after the holiday, something miraculous happened (at about 3 in the morning, no less): Seth and I left to catch a flight for two days away with no kids and very few plans. Thanks to Grandma, we got to skate off to Dallas guilt-free, for Chandler & Colby's exuberant wedding extravaganza in one of our favorite places (by which we mean Texas generally, although Dallas doesn't suck.)

We ate too much and drank too much and slept in. We caught up with friends. We had conversations that didn't include threats of timeout, sipped fancy cocktails, and devoured real Mexican food.

Seth, who is nursing a painful fractured scapula, let me talk him into a death-defying electric scooter ride.

We had a blast at the wedding, where we wore outfits without nutella or kid snot on them,

and recovered the next day sipping drinks in the rooftop pool.

 

We also missed these little beasts madly, and were beyond grateful for a Grandma who sent pictures and (loosely) enforced bedtimes. Even if she let the kids go out in public like this. (Because, fine, we do too.)

All in all, our quick whirlwind of a getaway was just what the doctor ordered and we loved every second. 

Especially because the holiday long weekend meant when we got back we still had one more day of pooltime,

living room antics and new board games,

and enough time to make cleanup a real team sport. 

It was such a beautiful weekend there are too many favorite photos to pick even a handful, but the one that made me snort with laughter was this one Jayne sent us while we were away, of Finley at the zoo in an outfit she clearly selected herself, too tired to sit up but not to keep working on her ice cream.

Tough life. Hope everyone's holiday was even half as wonderful as Finley's random Saturday afternoon.