4th Of July Fun!

We had the best 4th of July weekend!  My bff Adrianne and her sweet family (husband Sam, 3 year old daughter Wynn and 1 year old daughter Auden) came to visit and stay with us.  We had such a great time! 

On Saturday the girls all played and Emily got to have her first "real" sleepover with Wynn (I'm guessing the sleepover Emmy and I had a few months back doesn't really count!)  They loved staying in the same bed, even if they had to be separated about an hour after we put them down...sweet girls were just too excited to rest! 

The moms and dads hung out, drank wine and beer, and watched the boats on the river.  It was so nice and it felt like we'd known each other forever, despite the fact that it was mine and Paul's first time meeting Sam.

Then Sunday morning we got up nice and early and the girls played some more.  After morning nap (for the babies) we headed to a local restaurant on a barge-- the food was amazing, and it was a really neat experience to eat right on the water.  Our poor waiter was TERRIBLE- literally forgot something every time he came to the table...oh well.  The company was great and so was the food and the girls really enjoyed getting to watch the boats up close.

After lunch we headed home and put all the girls down for nap.  Almost everyone napped, which was so fortunate since we went to a huge picnic and fireworks show that evening.  Our very dear friends Aaron and Terri, whom we've known since we lived in our first house, invited us out to their neighborhood.  We had delicious smoked salmon, ham, all kinds of picnicky side dishes and Terri's incredible hash brown casserole...mmmm! 

We waited for it to get dark and Emily got to see sparklers with Daddy:

Then Aaron put on an amazing fireworks display, complete with music!  It was so much fun and Emily really, really enjoyed getting to watch them. 

This weekend reminded us of how lucky we are to have such great friends to spend time with.  Our children are so fortunate to have friends of all ages and we are so happy to have a strong support system here and friends who would do anything for us (and we for them!) 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!