4th of July weekend fun!

We kicked off the weekend Friday morning by heading to the zoo with Stephen and Lindsey.  We had a wonderful time seeing all the animals and just being together.  A couple of zoo highlights, we saw the ostriches for the first time.  I guess that they really enjoy their privacy!

We also really enjoyed the giraffes and they were right up to the fence....I LOVE how beautiful they are, simply amazing creatures! The elephants gave us a great show as always.  We ate a pretty yummy lunch and then headed home for a late nap for Miss Kelti Bean.  While Kelti was napping the afternoon away Ashlyn and I donned out swimsuits and soaked up some sun and water on the deck.  Brian got home early and we went out to some yummy Mexican and delicious margaritas too! :)  Funniest thing that happened at dinner was Ashlyn's VERY loud comment as we were leaving.  She ever so loudly declared "Daddy, it's a good thing you make the money so we can spend the money!"  Jeez, we got multiple comments on just how adorable the girls are as we were walking out. Even with that comment!

We had a brunch date with Stephen and Lindsey on Saturday morning.  Let's just say that we can never do anything under rated.  We thought we would do french toast and fruit.  Well we ended up doing cinnamon swirl french toast with fresh homemade blueberry syrup......YUMMY!!!  Add some fresh fruit and mimosas and we were set!!  Again we were blessed with a beautiful day so we took advantage and headed to the beach.  We all had a great time playing in the surf and sand.  

Sunday we tried a new church that we really liked, hoping that it works for us! Ashlyn and Kelti both seemed to really enjoy it and the people there.  From there we tried out a breakfast place we had been wanting to try out downtown.  Everything was super and we could tell that they really like children and were great with the girls!  Again we took advantage of the nice weather and spent some time on the deck.  In the evening Brian's brother and his family came over for some fried chicken and all the fixings. 
       *Okay so a note about the chicken.  The last time I had fried chicken I was still in college and it was from Ken-yucky Fried Chicken, so I wasn't expecting much.  Well this chicken was the bomb....so good that I am really happy that it is gone, otherwise I would still be stuffing my face with it!

Monday!!  Happy 4th day!  We started out with a yummy breakfast of strawberries, cinnamon rolls, and blueberries (red, white and blue)!  Then we headed to the community parade which was tons of fun and so much bigger than we were expecting! 

 Heading to the parade! Next year they will participate in the children's parade. :)

 The art of eating cotton candy! Ball it up and stuff it in!

 Or stick little whisps of it in your mouth....it lasts longer this way!

 Two 4th of July beauties!

Two more beauties!

After the parade we did lunch, nap and ended the day with some terrific fireworks with the girls.  Following are some of the reactions they had to the fireworks....

 Learning all about pop-its.  We had a little stomp fest!

All decorated with some confetti

Kelti wishes everyone a happy 4th!

Sorry this is sideways...not sure how to change it!