Park with Katrina

While Katrina was visiting we decided to go explore a new park near our house.  It was a cool park to explore because it felt more like a forest and it was fun to walk around there.  Alden had fun on the playground for a little bit and then he had fun walking around with Katrina.  They have a nice little stream there that Alden had fun watching while he threw rocks and sticks into it.  He wanted to play in the water too but it was a little too cold for that.  Even though he couldn't play in the water he still had a good time playing and discovering the new park.

Alden enjoyed the slide and climbing on the play structure.

Alden and Katrina watching the stream and throwing rocks into it.

Alden found a big stick to play with.

Alden thought it was fun to bang the stick onto the ground and draw in the dirt.

There were quite a few stairs but Alden wanted to do them himself with just a hand to help, rather than be carried.  He is getting so independent.

It is hard to see in this picture but the stream ran under this bridge and Alden enjoyed throwing rocks into it.

The stream was definitely Alden's favorite part of this park.  I am always amazed at how well water entertains Alden.  It was fun exploring the park and finding somewhere new for Alden to play near our house.

4th of July

In the evening on the 4th of July we went and hung out with some friends who live close by to watch fireworks. We don't live within any city limits so pretty much any fireworks are allowed where we live.  Drew and I didn't buy any fireworks besides sparklers and I am very glad that we didn't.  People started setting fireworks off around seven and they continued until at least midnight.  Aerial fireworks are legal here, which I am still not used to since I grew up in California.  It was a really impressive to see fireworks going off in every direction for 5 hours, although it was also really loud.  What impressed me the most was that around 9:30 Alden looked at me and said "bed please."  So, I took him to bed and laid him down and he went right to sleep. He slept through the rest of the fireworks even though there were fireworks going off right above our house.  He was a very tired boy by the end of the night but he enjoyed watching the fireworks until he fell asleep.

These where the red and blue cupcakes that Katrina and I made for the 4th of July.  They were blue raspberry cupcakes with a buttercream frosting.

Alden had a lot of fun popping all the snaps with Daddy.  He threw them for awhile and then figured out that it was fun to jump and stomp on them. Here is a video of Alden popping his snaps.

Daddy laid all the snaps out in a nice little pile for Alden so that he could grab them easily but at the end Alden decided to just jump on the pile and pop them all at once.

When we went over to watch the fireworks Alden kept moving the cones and trying to play with them.

These boys had a lot of fun on the scooters together.

Alden was still being cautious with sparklers and this point and wanted Daddy's help. Here is a video of Alden using a sparkler with Daddy (it is from earlier in the day).

But, pretty soon he was ready to do it all on his own.

Some of the first fireworks going off when it wasn't even dark yet. This was the first video I took of the fireworks (sorry it doesn't focus right away).

It was fun having my sister there too.

Finally getting dark enough so that we could appreciate the fireworks. Here is another video I took of the fireworks and this doesn't show the best of them. This is the last video I took of the fireworks, I am just sorry that it goes out of focus so much.

It was a really fun 4th of July and I was glad that Alden handled all the fireworks so well.  I always love holidays where I get to spend time with my family but I'm not too stressed, so this was perfect.

Freedom Fest

On the 4th of July we went to post in the morning for their Freedom Fest.  It was fun having my sister there and we took some friends with us so they could enjoy the festivities too.  It was fun to get to watch part of an air show (the kids got sick of sitting after awhile), see all the military vehicles they had out, see the car show and just enjoy the atmosphere.  It was a fun way to spend part of the holiday and it ended up being a good outing for Alden.  He had a really good time.

So this was before we left for the Freedom Fest but Daddy helped Alden with his first sparkler.  Alden thought it was really cool but was very cautious at first.

Alden and Katrina watching the air show.

The first plane.

It was a fun family day.

I know these pictures don't show it very well but it was a really cool show with very talented pilots.

The kids loved being able to climb in all the different vehicles.

Alden had fun letting Dad help him explore the vehicles.

There were some very cool cars on display and some were just set up in really cute ways.

Now, I had no idea what this was except for something to kids to bang on with sticks like drums.  It was made up of lots of different random things.  Alden had an awesome time playing here!

This was a fun event and I always love getting to spend time with my family so it was a good day.  Alden had a lot of fun exploring, playing and spending time with Mommy, Daddy and Katrina.  It was a good start to our 4th of July and I am glad that we went.