More Photos with Cousins

I love this series of Elaine and Alice.  (Take a look at those chubby hands (and thighs, of course)!)

Lots of princessing and dancing:

Admiring Baby Victor:

My White Jedi:

Happy Fourth!

We went to my sister's for the weekend.  The kids (and we) had a great time!  Mariah made it with very few melt downs, and I was happy, for the most part, with how things went with her.

Packing up to go:

M has been wearing headbands as chokers lately.  Funny girl.

We went swimming in their neighborhood pool.  Both girls loved it:  Mariah learned she could be self-sufficient in the tube, Elaine loved sitting on the side, and Sal lounged in her boat like a pro.  (It's so hard on me to have kids who are afraid of the water.  I'm more comfortable in the water than out, and it kills me that my kids still don't know how to swim!  We just haven't had inexpensive access to a pool.  Maybe we can do lessons next summer . . . .)

Mariah doing "dolphin" with Marian

We did a few little home fireworks on Saturday evening.  My older two get pretty nervous about the noise; Sally didn't seem to care one way or the other.  (Mariah informed me afterwards that she will not do fireworks with her kids when she's a mom.)

Marian's kids were so funny running away after lighting each one:

A little bit more brave:

I love this one of Elsa and Alice:

Dressed for church:

Mike and Elaine went to the parade with Chad and their older 3 kids.  Mariah stayed home and went swimming again with me while Sally napped at the house, supervised by Marian.

Elaine came back from the parade and wanted to swim.  We let her sit on the side with her toes in the water.  That quickly turned into lying on her belly with her hands in the water, and then lying backwards on her belly with her legs in the water.  Her pants were soaked.

We drove home after lunch on the 4th.  That evening, we went over to some friends' house for a little party.