A lot of July festivities...

July. 

One of the best months of the year, right? 

I think so. 

Here are a few of our recent happenings...

T-Ball Game

We spent a Saturday morning cheering on our buddy Liam at his t-ball game. 

I am not much of a baseball/t-ball fan to be honest. 

Once we were playing in gym class and I was day dreaming near third base when it occurred to me that I wasn't sure if I was playing third base or if I had run to third base and was supposed to run home. 

After much contemplation I decided to run home after the next hit. 

It turns out I was in fact playing third base. 

I never lived that one down. 

These players were so adorable that it was fun to watch. 

These little guys wanted to play. 

It was fun to get a little taste of the sports world, as Max starts soccer next month. 

Summer play dates

It seems we move from swimming pool to swimming pool these days. 

lunch after swimming 

enjoying a doughnut with red, white, and blue sprinkles before we splashed in a friends kiddie pool

Max's imitation of me on the phone is eerily accurate these days 

Also, in other news, Eli has grown a little rat tail. 

it seriously sticks out like that, but I can't bring myself to take him to get his haircut yet. 

Fireworks

We took the boys to see fireworks for the first time this year. 

Due to the fire bans, fireworks have been cancelled the past couple of years, but there was a place not too far from us that put on a display on July 3rd this year. 

We met up at a park pretty far from the actual show since we didn't know how the boys would do with the noise. 

I was really excited to share this experience with Max and Eli...but it ended up almost not happening at all. 

Due to bats. 

Yes, bats. 

The park we watched from happened to have dozens of bats circling the area. 

Guess who is irrationally afraid of bats? 

Yep, me. 

Peeked out of my hiding spot curled under Julian's arm to take a couple of pictures and then fled the scene as soon as it was over. 

I think my brain is already starting to repress this experience and delete the memory...but Julian tells me that the boys enjoyed it. 

Moving on. 

4th of July Parade

We celebrated Independence Day by meeting friends at a parade in Monument. 

It is apparently one of the biggest 4th of July parades in all of Colorado. 

Dad of the year right there. 

It felt very all American and patriotic to get caught up in the crowd's excitement as we cheered for marching bands, watched kids scramble for flying candy, and waved to friendly strangers in fancy old cars. 

There were even elephants. 

photo bombed by Darren! 

When they say the biggest parade in Colorado they really mean it. 

After an hour a half it was still going strong, but we were starting to melt in the heat and made an early exit. 

We had a lot of fun and I'm thinking this might be a new family tradition for the 4th. 

Sparklers

My favorite part of the holiday was a quiet dinner at home followed by some sparklers out on the patio. 

Not a single bat in sight :) 

This was one of our "goals" this summer and a very sweet family time. 

The rest of the night was spent making last minute preparations for our big camping trip, so the sparklers provided a nice break from the chaos. 

More on the camping trip coming soon...wishing everyone a belated Happy 4th!