A fun family Fourth
We enjoyed having Daddy home from work yesterday and tried to make the most of the holiday as a family.
We dressed up in patriotic colors and attended a morning community parade. It was both girls first ever parade and they loved it. (Excuse the smudge on the camera in the first two pictures!)
Aren't their matching dresses darling? I'd been anxious to get them some matching dresses ever since Kaitlynn was born, but blog reader and friend, Jill, beat me to it!
And yes, aren't I so organized to have brought our patriotic flag quilt for us to sit on?? Actually, we probably would have never made it to the parade had not Mom been here to help me get the girls ready and get us out the door. And as you'll see in a bit, I was really not all that organized...
I think this picture is just precious. Mom said she thought it looked like something out of a "Little Golden" book.
Father and daughter!
After the parade, we drove home and packed up stuff for a picnic lunch. When we arrived at the park, we saw these fawn. I don't recall ever seeing fawn out in the wild. We stopped and watched them and took pictures for quite some time and they just stood out in the field eating grass and foliage from the trees. There were three in all and we never saw the mother.
Picking up sticks - one of Kathrynne's favorite things to do - at the park.
Eating our picnic lunch. Remember how I said just a minute ago that I wasn't very organized. Well, we completely discovered that when we got ready to eat our lunch. I had planned that we would grill out the special all natural, locally made, all beef hot dogs I'd purchased for the occasion (and paid almost $4 for a small package of!). However, since we don't own a grill, we were going to use a grill at the park. When we arrived, though, we could only find grills at pavillions which were by reservation only and all of these by-reservation-only pavillions were in use.. We finally decided - after driving around the park for almost 30 minutes looking for a grill to use - that we would just stop at a sparsely populated pavillion, with an extra not-in-use grill and ask if we could borrow the grill. But, we soon found out that thanks to my poor planning, we didn't have any tongs or utensils to cook and turn the hot dogs. We couldn't bring ourselves to ask to borrow both a grill and tongs, so Jesse decided to drive home and get the tongs. By this time, we were all getting quite hungry, but we resigned ourselves to wait a bit longer.
When Jesse arrived back with the tongs and grilling utensils, we discovered that I also hadn't thought to bring any matches. Needless to say, we ended up eating cold hot dogs - at least they were all natural, fully cooked beef dogs! And honestly, they were still pretty good cold. It was very amusing though, especially since my mom was with us and she likes her hot dogs grilled to a crisp. She subjected herself to a cold hot dog, though, and found they weren't too bad either.
Ah, the memories!
Beautiful little Kathrynne with the clover necklace Grandma made for her.
We topped off the day with a nearby fireworks show. Jesse and I had fun trying to capture a decent picture of the fireworks. We never really succeeded, but it was entertaining anyway. One of my future goals is to improve my photography skills as I have much to learn there.
Oh and did I mention that Jesse noted that the fireworks show last 30 minutes and it took 45 minutes to get out of the parking lot afterwards? We passed the time listening to a very informative talk on Sarah Edwards. And now I am more determined than ever to get my hands on a copy of the book, Marriage to a Difficult Man.
It was a wonderful day and we are always so thankful for opportunities to spend special time together as a family!
We dressed up in patriotic colors and attended a morning community parade. It was both girls first ever parade and they loved it. (Excuse the smudge on the camera in the first two pictures!)
Aren't their matching dresses darling? I'd been anxious to get them some matching dresses ever since Kaitlynn was born, but blog reader and friend, Jill, beat me to it!
And yes, aren't I so organized to have brought our patriotic flag quilt for us to sit on?? Actually, we probably would have never made it to the parade had not Mom been here to help me get the girls ready and get us out the door. And as you'll see in a bit, I was really not all that organized...
I think this picture is just precious. Mom said she thought it looked like something out of a "Little Golden" book.
Father and daughter!
After the parade, we drove home and packed up stuff for a picnic lunch. When we arrived at the park, we saw these fawn. I don't recall ever seeing fawn out in the wild. We stopped and watched them and took pictures for quite some time and they just stood out in the field eating grass and foliage from the trees. There were three in all and we never saw the mother.
Picking up sticks - one of Kathrynne's favorite things to do - at the park.
Eating our picnic lunch. Remember how I said just a minute ago that I wasn't very organized. Well, we completely discovered that when we got ready to eat our lunch. I had planned that we would grill out the special all natural, locally made, all beef hot dogs I'd purchased for the occasion (and paid almost $4 for a small package of!). However, since we don't own a grill, we were going to use a grill at the park. When we arrived, though, we could only find grills at pavillions which were by reservation only and all of these by-reservation-only pavillions were in use.. We finally decided - after driving around the park for almost 30 minutes looking for a grill to use - that we would just stop at a sparsely populated pavillion, with an extra not-in-use grill and ask if we could borrow the grill. But, we soon found out that thanks to my poor planning, we didn't have any tongs or utensils to cook and turn the hot dogs. We couldn't bring ourselves to ask to borrow both a grill and tongs, so Jesse decided to drive home and get the tongs. By this time, we were all getting quite hungry, but we resigned ourselves to wait a bit longer.When Jesse arrived back with the tongs and grilling utensils, we discovered that I also hadn't thought to bring any matches. Needless to say, we ended up eating cold hot dogs - at least they were all natural, fully cooked beef dogs! And honestly, they were still pretty good cold. It was very amusing though, especially since my mom was with us and she likes her hot dogs grilled to a crisp. She subjected herself to a cold hot dog, though, and found they weren't too bad either.
Ah, the memories!
Beautiful little Kathrynne with the clover necklace Grandma made for her.
We topped off the day with a nearby fireworks show. Jesse and I had fun trying to capture a decent picture of the fireworks. We never really succeeded, but it was entertaining anyway. One of my future goals is to improve my photography skills as I have much to learn there.Oh and did I mention that Jesse noted that the fireworks show last 30 minutes and it took 45 minutes to get out of the parking lot afterwards? We passed the time listening to a very informative talk on Sarah Edwards. And now I am more determined than ever to get my hands on a copy of the book, Marriage to a Difficult Man.
It was a wonderful day and we are always so thankful for opportunities to spend special time together as a family!
posted by Crystal Paine at 7:08 PM
18 Comments:
Sounds like a great day! I appreciate that you wore patriotic colors as so many Americans view the 4th as just a day off from work. I made a point of reminding my kids that it's our nation's 231st birthday. Since it's mine as well, they were already excited. Your pictures are great and you have a beautiful family. God Bless You.
Cold hot dogs! That sounds like something that would happen to me!
Glad you were able to get out and about. :) You look great and the girls look adorable.
wonderful photos! you are going to love dressing the girls alike. that is so much fun!
What sweet pictures! Kathrynne looks like she is getting so big now; her hair is so adorable!
That's one of the better fireworks pictures I've seen! My son tried to capture some last year, but all the pictures had that streaking in it from the quick movement.
Once when we went camping we had a couple of things in cans -- and I forgot to bring a can opener. :)
Sounds like you had a lovely day. I love that book. When I got it I had to search for it at a used book site, but it seems like there has been a revived interest in it lately, so maybe they've reprinted it.
Marriage to a Difficult Man is a wonderful book to read as an encouragement to a wife. The author is a bit sketchy on Christian doctrine/theology in places, but it is still absolutely worth it! I highly recommend it.
I had to giggle as you told your story (I was thinking, oh, no!) - yet, I still think you are pretty organized! You already have Frugal Friday up and you were able to get out and about so soon as well as doing things at home like baking. Lovely pictures too, Crystal.
I love the patriotic matching dresses! You were able to get some great pictures!
Marriage to a Difficult Man is a "don't miss" book on the Edwards family.:) I enjoyed it greatly!
~Susan
I've really been enjoying all of your pictures... thank you for sharing them with us! I always love family pictures the BEST!! :)
I'm so glad you got to have your mom stay for a week... I know I would enjoy that! :) Your mom reminds me of my mom... I guess her small build, simple hairstyle, style of dress... :)
I hope everything continues to go well for you during this time of recovering and adjusting to the new normal! :D
I agree with your Mum! I collect vintage little golden books from thrift shops & garage sales - especially ones illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. My favourites are "God", "We Help Mummy" & "We help Daddy"
What a perfect shot of Kathrynne!
Claire
Looks like you had a very nice day out, Crystal! Thanks for posting your lovely pictures. So glad you're feeling so much better. Your two little ones are adorable!
I think you are doing very well given what you've been through lately and can be forgiven a few cold hotdogs! I too am no stranger to that disorganised feeling - yesterday I did a load of laundry but completely forgot to add detergent... :)
God bless you and yours.
Crystal, I'm so happy to read that you are all well and healthy. And how beautiful you look for having given birth so recently! Wow! Just one more thing to thank the Lord for. I hope I'm that fortunate, God willing, if the Lord blesses us with babies! ;-) And the matching outfits - ADORABLE!
Adorable pictures Crystal, thanks for sharing!
Crystal, you look far too skinny for someone who had a baby a week ago! I had ringlets like Kathrynne's when I was little :)
Lorna
P.S. Are clovers what us Brits would call daisies? I've never been entirely sure...
Sounds like you had a good day filled with special memories. If everything went just so, you wouldn't remember it all right? :)
Your girls are so sweet too. What a precious family you have.
Beautiful pictures!
We went to a state park on Father's Day and couldn't find a grill either! We drove around for about an hour trying to figure out what to do! Yeah, we ate cold hotdogs and warm potato salad, but still had a pretty good time in the mountains. Your pics are wonderful!
Tammy
www.xanga.com/fulltimemomto2
What a beautiful family you have! Love the pictures...thanks for sharing! God bless....
Cheryl in HI
www.mycritterclubhouse.com
I think your photographs look great! And, the one you did of fireworks turned out good!!! (You should see some of my feeble attempts.) :)
I have two girls, too. What a blessing!!! Double blessings!
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