Fun overload and freedom

To sum it up, we have just been having waaayyyyyy too much fun. It really should stop before someone gets hurt. The start of the summer (the real one, that is, after all of the rain) has been wonderful and full of fun experiences--first, Nate's 5th Birthday party at the pool, then Evie's 8th Birthday party at home (a "backyard" movie night), the end of school and a modified, psuedo camping trip, then a mini-vacation to Hershey Park, now the 4th of July and all of the fun-filled obligations associated with the birth of our nation and the freedom that we enjoy. Whew!!! On top of all that, we are designing the kitchen of our dreams and having a bunch of fun with that. Since I really can't express it in words, pictures will have to suffice.

Happy Independence Day fellow Americans. Cherish the life you lead, exercise your right to be happy and be good people at the same time!

Despite our efforts, Tanner keeps getting bigger. But he also gets more lovable, too. Even Mom-mom Mary adores him.

Evie all jazzed up for her hip-hop dance recital. Can't get much cuter.

Nate's birthday party at the pool was a bunch of fun. Good friends, nice weather, cake and ice cream--what more could a 5 year old ask for?

Ron, Poppi, Peter and Craig entered the "masters" freestyle race at the pool and made a great showing. We're proud of you guys!

We really love our pool, Crystal Lake. Nate's swimming is greatly improving and Evie is still the fish that she always has been.

We participated in Haddonfield's 4th of July Parade (a big extravaganza) again this year, although on a smaller scale. Evie created a house of her very own based upon the new movie "UP" and marched with a group of scouts. It was a gorgeous morning and people were out in droves to celebrate the birth of the United States and our collective freedom.

We took a mini-vacation to Hershey Park and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It's a fun amusement park not far from home and we will definitely return. The chocolate, of course, was fresh and delicious and we all had a lovely time.

Evie and Nate are considering a new career in chocolate production.

The water park at Hershey is terrific. This ride above shoots you in a tube down a chute into a funnel that swirls you around and spits you out into a pool. How much fun is that?!?

Below is Evie in the wave pool. You can see the countdown clock in the background. Every ten minutes the pool turns into an ocean.

Nat and Alex Wolf make up the Naked Brothers Band, which we went to see at the park. Evie managed to find a place in the front row next to the stage. You can see her little body in the next picture.

Cooling off.

We modified Evie's 8th birthday party due to a thunderstorm and moved the "backyard movie" into the dining room. The girls had a bunch of fun playing and watching "Hotel for Dogs" and eating tons of popcorn from the professional popcorn machine. It was great.

This is a picture of our kitchen currently. We are remodeling and will soon have new pictures to post. Hooray!

Have a wonderful summer, all!