The 4th of July that wasn't

For the past couple of years, we've spent July 4th with the Collins and Sullivans. We've cooked out, we've had a pool party, and we've gone on off-roading adventures on La Cantera Pkwy to get a prime spot to see the Six Flags fireworks show. This year, the Fourth of July included none of those things. The Sullivans had family in town and the Collins had some lame excuse about having a 1 week old baby (just kidding - love you guys), so we couldn't make it happen. To add insult to injury, nearly the entire state was under a fireworks ban, so there were no fireworks to see, either. It ended up being just Bri, the kids and I and we grilled hot dogs at home. Sadness.

Although we couldn't be together for the actual holiday, Liz, Melissa and I couldn't bear the thought of not having the annual picture of the kids in their red, white & blue. So we made plans to get together and fake it. Here are some of the pictures from previous years:

 

2009



2010

  I love all of these kids - they may as well be my family. These pictures are treasures. You can see why we couldn't skip a year just because of a logistical error! :)

So, here we all are this morning in our front yard. It's getting harder and harder to get everyone to look the same way at the same time. Happy Fake Fourth of July!  

Avery, Rylan, Tanner, Ben, Noah, Grace, Emily, Luke & Grant

 

I was trying to get a picture of just my 3, but Tanner asked if he could

 be in it, too. How could I say no?



They are too big in this picture.....

best friends!



My three blessings!

This picture cracks me up. Noah always has the same expression whenever Grace is touching him - one of complete terror and distrust. She loves him to pieces, and I think he's terrified that she will literally love him to pieces. Easy, Lennie.



She waited so patiently for her turn to hold Noah.

And the onesie is so accurate: "All American Hunk". SOOOO squeezable! I think one of these is going to be his 4 month picture since a) he actually turned four months old today, and b) I have once again failed to make an appointment to have his picture taken by a professional. Poor third child! 

Who needs a neighborhood pool...

when your daddy lets you swim in puddles in the street?

Like father, like son

My not so baby brother posted a picture today from his fishing excursion that made me look twice. He is right in the middle of "Operation Wooly Beard", as he calls it, and seeing that picture was like going back in time. My goodness.... he is practically a carbon copy of our dad. I immediately dug thru some old photos of Chuckles to do a comparison. What do you think?

I showed Ben and asked him who was in the pictures. He said (pointing to the one on the right), "That's Uncle Gav." I said, "Well, then who's the other one?" "Uncle Gav, maybe?" Ha ha!

I bet in about 15 years I can do a similar line up of Ben and Brian. Why do the Dads get all the look-alikes?!

Meeting Rylan

The Collins came over for dinner tonight and Noah had the chance to meet his new best friend, Rylan. The kids spent the evening fighting playing while the grown-ups tried to steer the conversation away from the impending move. We got some picture of the boys' first meeting (right after a simultaneous nursing session... just like we used to do with Ben & Tanner). Looking at these makes me even sadder when I think about Aaron, Liz and the kiddos not being around anymore. I see a lot of trips to Corpus in our future!

Noah (4 months) & Rylan (2 weeks)

You've got a friend in me :)

Deja vu ~ Tanner (6 months) & Ben (6 weeks)