4th of July

In my family, the 4th of July means a lot of things. Breakfast at a local family restaurant (Mike & Rhonda's) to start. Then, we generally go to a parade, eat watermelon, wear our patriotic shirts, set off fireworks [this one's just me + cam :)], watch the fireworks, etc. This year for 4th of July we were neither in Utah [where the BEST fireworks show is, period.] nor with my family. It was a dreary day. Overcast and kind of dreary. I had been up all night with Nash. He was a very unhappy little boy. I think I surprised Cam when I bounded down the stairs and said "Let's go out to breakfast!" Cam was mowing the lawn at the time, so he showered off and away we went.

We loaded up the boys and drove down to a local olive mill just up the road from Cam's parents' house for breakfast. We honestly had no idea what to expect. It did not disappoint. YUM. I got their fresh olive oil waffle with berries and cream and this genius syrup. If you are every in Queen Creek, figure out how to get yourself there one morning. It was delish. The boys were tired, but happy. I'm a firm believer that babies feed off of their mom & dad's energy. Cam and I were extremely happy. The boys could sense that.


The restaurant had a store attached to it where they sold every type of olive oil you could imagine. They recommended drizzling it over cheesecake or using it in baked goods to add a totally indulgent factor. Oh boy. I'm still kicking myself for not buying a bottle.

We barely got home, fed the boys, and Cam sent me off to see his cousin for a haircut and a red ombre dye. I am in love with it. I feel like it's subtle, but different. She's super talented at what she does. Country Cuts in Queen Creek - ask for Melissa. She rocks.



Cam got all young on me and asked me to go for a scooter ride with him while the boys were taking their mid-day nap. It still makes my heart freak out when he asks me to do fun things like that. Sometimes it's a good thing to act like a teenager once in a while.



We invited a bunch of our friends over for a pool party and barbecue. A few other couples from our ward in Utah have moved down to the valley, so to have them all over helped with some of the homesickness I was feeling. It was still overcast, but made for a great day for swimming. I wish I had more pictures!



This fantastic boy is Jameson. His hair is to-die-for. His mama and I became friends back up in Orem. We sure love them. They made moving to AZ a whole lot of fun. I don't have a picture of her husband, Steve, or Alison or Brian or Isaac. But man, friends sure make life sweeter.



Nash decided to rest up during the pool party part of the afternoon. He was exhausted from the night before and spent the pool party out cold in his carseat. Cute boy.

About half a mile from the house is a farm that puts on a fireworks show for the city of Queen Creek. We sat on the patio furniture and watched the fireworks with Nash and Gray on our laps. At this point in their little lives, focusing on anything was a majorly big deal. Gray really hadn't shown excitement about much before that night, but during the fireworks, he kept his eyes glued to the sky for 20 minutes straight and every now and again his little arms and legs would tense up in excitement. And then the boys started talking. Oh it did my heart good.

That night was its own kind of magic.

We are the luckiest.