Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! Here's a picture of what Nicole thinks of the fourth!

This year for the fourth, Matt got the third of July off from work. But, he didn't tell me that he got it off, I heard it from my Mom first. Matt was trying to make it into a surprise, but Mom spilled the beans. I was just happy that I got three full days with Matt rather than just two. I would love it if neither of us had to work and we could just be together all the time. If only we were independently wealthy. I wonder what it wouuld be like.
On Friday, we took Nicole to Freedom Days. Which is essentially a bunch of booths outside by the courthouse that sell things. We like to walk around and see what is being sold. I bought Nicole this hat because Nicole really hates the sun. Everytime I take her outside she acts like I have wounded her with the sun. She shuts her eyes tight and flails. So, the hat helped to shade her. Though she didn't like it on her head, she seemed to like the shade.
While we were at Freedom Days we found some little kid sun glasses and we bought them for Nicole. She looked super cute! And, it helped further her avoidance of the sun. She liked to eat them more than she liked to wear them. It was actually the first time that Nicole has grabbed something with her hands and brought it to her mouth. She has brought blankets to her face, but nothing heavier than a blanket. We were very exicted that she learned a new trick. I'm sure we won't be excited when she tries to put things into her mouth that should not go there. She grabbed her dirty diaper this morning when I was changing her and I was not excited about that.
Matt didn't want me to take a picture of him while we were at Freedom Days, but I got him anyway.
There were a lot of cool/restored cars at Freedom Days and Matt enjoyed walking around looking at them.
Nicole seemed to tolerate being out in the sun for an hour, but then she got angry and fell asleep. I really enjoyed the outing though. Being with my own family for the fourth seemed to make it more fun than it has been in previous years. Even though all we did was walk around and look at things. When Nicole is older she will enjoy it more because she will be able to ride the rides and play. I'm excited for her to grow up and experience those things. But, at the same time, I want her to stay my little baby forever.
After Freedom Days, we came home and just hung out. Nicole loves her high chair! For some reason, she always wants to put her feet up on the tray. Later in the day on Friday, we went to a park in Orem and met up with a bunch of people that I went to college with in Hawaii. The Allreds, whose house I lived in in Hawaii, were in from Hawaii and were there too. It was fun to see everyone again. Even though most of us already live in Utah, we hardly get together.

For the fourth itself, Matt worked on building our entertainment system all morning. (Post to come about that project) Then, we drove up to my parents house for a barbeque. My dad got a new grill for father's day and he does not like to pass up an opportunity to use it! Most of my siblings and their children were there.

Johnny kept trying to get people to go outside and play games, so Matt, Anthon, Krista and I went outside and played soccer for a while. I cut out early because it was just too hot, but the boys kept playing for hours. Matt got very burnt. I opted to go inside and play Boggle instead. I love Boggle! Mostly because I am really good at it.

While we were outside playing, Marie watched Nicoley for me. What a good sister/aunt she is. Nicole was attempting to take a nap with her, but Nicole likes to wake up everytime her pacifier falls out and I don't think that Marie got very much sleep.

We left my parents and came home. Matt resumed work on building things with his hands and I took care of the baby. We didn't watch fireworks, neither did we buy fireworks. When Nicole gets older we will do more things like that, but I just don't think that she would appreciate it right now. Plus, she likes to go to bed at 9pm or she gets really angry. And it doesn't even get dark until 9 nowadays.

It was a good fourth! I loved just spending time with my husband and my daughter. There is nothing better.