Our Fourth of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July! It was extra special because it was Jackson's first 4th.

The morning of the 4th, my husband played golf with our brother-in-law, my dad and a friend. While he played golf I baked a couple of pies to take to my Aunt and Uncle's later that day and had a little photo shoot with Jackson. ☺

When Jake got home, we packed up and headed to my Aunt and Uncle's house for family fun, food and swimming! 

Jackson with Auntie Ashlee. ☺ 

My sister's family!

My sister's 2 boys with Jackson.

Jake and my uncle Mark in the pool.

My 2nd cousin Hannah in the pool. :-)

These next few pictures are of all the kids playing in the playroom at my Aunt and Uncles house. Their 2 grand-kids, David and Hannah, are over a lot and are in some of these pictures playing with Landon, Jackson and Mason.

I didn't get any pictures of lunch, but here are the desserts. :-)

My sweet boys! ♥

My nephew Landon and my second cousin David, playing video games.

My bro.-in-law's birthday is on the 4th, so we celebrated by singing happy birthday to him and my sister made him a cake! 29 Candles.

Later that evening we drove downtown, to my office, to watch the fireworks. I work on the 24th floor, so we had an awesome view and we got to sit in the air conditioning! Doesn't get much better than that. :-) Here are some pictures I was able to take.

Jackson and I watching the fireworks on his first 4th of July.

My sister and her family joined us for the fireworks. Here they all are watching from my office window!

Jake and Jackson watching the fireworks.

The grand finale!

The full moon was so beautiful overlooking the city.

The empty Cardinals stadium after they won their game last night.

The large crowd of people trying to leave the city after a Cardinals game and fireworks for the 4th! It was quite hectic.

We had a great 4th of July. I hope you all did as well. :-)

Next week I may not make as many posts as we will be on our 5th anniversary trip to Mackinac Island, MI! I may make a few small posts here and there, but I will have a full post the following week, when we get back from our trip.

Embrace the Camera

Linking up with Emily at The Anderson Crew

Embrace the Camera is where you'll take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. The point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

I have a few pictures that my sister took of Jackson and I from yesterday. We had a great 4th of July! I hope you did too.

A Few Random Instagram Photos

I hope you're all enjoying your 4th of July!

Here are just a few random photos I've taken in the last week or so. Enjoy!

Jackson with his cousins, Larry and Sophia!

A sweet smile! 

This picture is funny because he looks bald. Though he doesn't have much hair he does have more than this picture shows.

 Jackson playing with his new toy.

My sweet boy. Look at those chubby legs!

My busy boy trying to play with the  VCR/DVD player.

Jackson taking, what ended up being, a 3 hour nap.

Max decided it was nap time for him too. :-)

Jackson playing with a bowling ball and pin at Maw Maw and Papa's house.

A Couple New Videos of Jackson

This first video is soooo cute!! Its of Jackson kissing his reflection in the mirror yesterday. My heart melts when I go back and watch it. ♥

This next video is of Jackson walking behind his new toy that I got for him yesterday. He's walking with it so well. I don't think it will be too much longer before he's walking on his own! Oh boy!

Church Picinic

Our church has its church picnic, the Sunday before July 4th every year. We always have BBQ and everyone brings a side or dessert. Our youth leader has a giant slip n slide that he made a few years ago! Its always fun! Our pastor and his wife also have a pool at their house, right next door to our church. We have a great time every year! Here are some pictures from Sunday's church picnic.

Jackson wearing his 4th of July outfit!

Jackson and his cousin Mason in their 4th of July outfits.

Jackson and Daddy going down the giant Slip n Slide.

Everyone enjoying the giant slip n slide!

My niece Kyleigh going down the slip n slide!

My nephew Landon going down the slip n slide.

My niece Sophia going down the slip n slide! Notice she has water wings on, too funny!

Our pastor going down the slide with his grandson on his back!

Jackson and daddy again. Jackson didn't really like the slide too much. Maybe next year.

Super cute swimming suit ruffles!

Our Pastor!

My husband Jake, So funny!

Our pastor with both of his grandson's on his back!

Jake's trip down the slide didn't turn out so well this time. He broke a sandal and ended up in some mud!

Violet having a juice on this hot summer day!

Violet's twin, Caroline, eating some ice. Love the face she's making!

The twins' older sister, Clair. Having fun at the pool. She's such a silly girl!

My aunt Karla and uncle Mark playing with Jackson in the pool.

Jackson playing in the pool.

After swimming, we came back in for a snack.

Snack time!

My niece Sophia, finally being brave and swimming by herself, after swimming all afternoon.

My nephew Landon, stealing a drink out of Papa's (my dad) big cup!

We had a great time at the picnic! I hope you all enjoy your 4th of July!! We will be spending the day at my Aunt and Uncle's house. They have a pool and have invited the whole family out to swim and BBQ! It should be a fun first 4th for Jackson! He loves the pool.