Happy 4th of July!!!

We kick-started 4th of July this year with a neighborhood bike parade!!!  Here is Jackson's bike all ready to go!  I dropped the ball a little on decorations, and didn't have time to run out for anything.  I took the paper chain idea and ran with it--he had a red, white and blue chain dangling from each handlebar.  A homemade sign complete with pom poms, some streamers, and some red, white and blue paper stars on his helmet and Jackson was ready to go!

Josh wore Graham in the Ergo for the parade and I decked them out with some stars too :)

Baby Graham :)

Izzy

Reagan

Avery

Riding around the cul-de-sac pre-parade!

Levi

The parade leader complete with  an American flag!

En route

All the Otter Pops you could eat at the end :)  It was already into the 90s by this time--10:30 AM!!!

After cooling off and a nap, the Yanceys and Bashores came over to eat a yummy grilled dinner!  I had the kids help me decorate our patriotic dessert...

Taking turns adding the blueberries...

Then the strawberries...

Finished product!!!  And, it was DELICIOUS!

Levi was in HEAVEN when I pulled out all the baby toys!

Kids' table

We relaxed at the house, and then we headed over to Montclair (subdivision about ten minutes away) to join the Walburgers for fireworks!  They were invited by their bishop from church who lives on the golf course there.  He invites the church members to watch from the hole behind his house.  While it was no DC or Chicago display, it was just perfect for our little audience!

Aimee was nice enough to adorn Jackson and Rachel with light-up bracelets and necklaces!

Silly faces!

Happy 4th of July, Graham!

Jackson did cover his ears during the fireworks, but overall, they were a hit!  We had SUCH a fun day full of good friends--our favorite :) :) :)

Allison and Jonah Visit!

Late one night I got a Facebook message from my friend, Allison, telling me they were coming to visit in Virginia and did I want to hang out!  YES!  Allison and I were roommates for two years of college, but we don't get to see each other very often :(  She moved to Virginia while Josh and I were living in Illinois, and pretty much right before Josh and I moved to Virginia, she and her husband moved to Ohio.  Such bad timing!  We haven't seen each other since right around Jackson's first birthday, I think.  I hadn't even met her son, Jonah, who is 2 1/2!!!  So, yes, we were thrilled to have a playdate :)

Of course, the Handy Manny toolbox was a hit, and Jackson and Jonah found things to fix together.

Jonah was a big fan of Flicker too, and spent some time "sneaking" around!

Being silly

More silliness!

LOVE this picture since I have one of Allison holding Jackson at a similar age!

After playing for most of the morning, we took the boys to Chik fil A--an excellent activity!  The boys played in the play area while Allison and I had even more time to catch up :)  Hopefully we'll see them much sooner than last time!

I just had to include some cute pictures of the boys :)  Jackson LOVES snuggling with Daddy and Graham!

Look who is awake!

Jackson SO wanted me to take this picture.  Too bad Graham didn't agree :(

Sweet brothers!

Graham would probably be smushed if Jackson loved him any more ;)

Jackson LOVES when Graham's eyes are open!  This was great since Graham was looking AT Jackson :)

Prince William National Forest

The woods behind our house are part of Prince William Forest.  We cannot, however, leave our back door and wander right on to the trails like at the townhouse.  Josh has done a ton of bushwhack hiking this way since we moved in, but that's not exactly family friendly.  We decided to buy a year's pass to the forest so we could have access to the real trails any time :)  These pictures are form our first family hike as "members" of the forest!

Pretty scenery :)

None of the hikes I've been on so far are very long since they are Jackson friendly (2 miles is about his limit), but that works well for Graham and me too!  LOL  

Josh is loving wearing the Ergo carrier when we hike!  I have used that one too, and really like it (I'm excited about how long it will last us), but I've been loving the Moby Wrap for our outings most recently.  It's wraps Graham so snug to my chest and it's just like me holding him all snuggled up, but my hands stay free :)

We briefly saw this playground as we left on our hike, but it wasn't until we were all finished that we saw how COOL it was!  This is at Pine Grove Picnic Area, and Jackson LOVED it :)  We will refer to it as the bear playground :)

Stepping stumps

The lantern sconces on the outside of this slide are super cute!

The huge bear actually houses this neat climbing wall

A log to climb up

Happy camper :)

Ladybug car

Jackson loves anywhere there is something to balance/walk across!

We plan to get a lot of use out of our pass to the forest!

A Super Duper Awesome Summer Day!

We actually discovered Locust Shade Park on Monday.  We went to try out one of their playgrounds and took a picnic.  It was a perfect morning outing!  Josh took Jackson back on Tuesday morning (while I took Graham for a weight check at the pediatrician) to play putt putt!  Apparently Tuesdays are Buy One Get One Free--SCORE!

They had an awesome time!

Jackson keeps talking about "playing putting with the colored balls."

We are definitely planning to take advantage of this wonderful spot more this summer :)

Another attempt at a picture of all three of us!

Josh had a super surprise for Jackson: camping in the backyard!!!

Jackson was really excited to help Daddy set up the tent outside.

Putting the poles together.

Getting ready to raise the tent.

Almost up...

Jackson even had his own tools to help!

Hammering in the stakes.

Dragging over the sleeping bags.

Checking out the tent.

All set for sleeping!

The boys and the tent :)

Nothing says camping like a little pre-bedtime fire!

Someone is excited for smores...

Graham's first fire!!!

Helping add kindling to the fire.

Roasting a marshmallow.

   

Two of these boys will be sleeping in the tent.  One will not ;)

Side note: Graham's weight check went well!  He has gained some more weight.  The nurse practicioner we saw was wonderful!!!  She said he looks great aside from the slow weight gain.  She isn't really worried, but did want us to come back in five days, so we have another appointment for Monday.  She also encouraged me to wake him after three hours to eat if he hasn't gotten up on his own.  We'll see what we can do!