July 4th Weekend!

We had a busy and fun family weekend for the 4th of July!  We stayed up way too late too many nights, slept in, saw fireworks, spent time with friends, and did lots of fun activities!

We started off our July 4th weekend on Wednesday night with the Yankee Doodle Pops on the lawn of the Capitol Building in downtown Des Moines.  We went with some friends, and it was a really fun evening!  We listened to the Des Moines Symphony play some patriotic music (complete with real canon sounds during "The 1812 Overture"!), and watched the boys play with trucks in the dirt.

Once it got dark, it was time for the fireworks over the Des Moines River.  Unfortunately, we (and the hundreds of other people sitting around us) missed the memo that we needed to be sitting HIGHER on the hill in order to actually SEE the fireworks.  Our view was about half-obstructed by trees. :(  But, it was J's first experience with fireworks, and he was really impressed!!!! :)

On the 4th, the weather was absolutely beautiful-- warm, breezy, and perfect beach weather!  Hmmmm, where to find a "beach" in Iowa?  We headed to Big Creek State Park.  We picked up "Suvway" sandwiches on the way for our picnic lunch, and then relaxed and played in the sand and water.  Our dear little boy was just in heaven with all of the sand and water, and just being able to get super dirty!!!!  He also is getting braver in the water and loved swimming, too.

"Swimming" with Daddy.

Digging, digging, and digging some more!

SO happy!!!

We went home for J's nap (he took a loooong one, which is good because he was in for another late night!) and then grilled up a good ol' All-American meal of burgers, fresh green beans (corn on the cob isn't ready yet-- boo), pasta salad, and fresh fruit.  Delicious!

Then it was off to the fireworks in Urbandale.  The last time we went to these fireworks, they were set off from somewhere different, so we were not 100% sure where to sit and where they were being set off from.  But, the website said Walker Johnston Park, so that's where we went.  And oh my.  Let's just say we definitely made up for our lack of a view of the fireworks from the previous night!  We were just outside the restricted zone where they shot the fireworks off, so we were up close (TOO close!) and personal!  J did not like it one bit. :(

More waiting for fireworks.

Spent some time watching "Special Agent Oso" on Mommy's phone.

Finally!

J said, "Mommy, I don't think this is a good idea."

 The look on my face and J's face probably says it all!  He hated it-- I had to cover up his ears for him, and he barely even watched them.  Check out the guy in the background-- THAT is how straight up you had to look to see the fireworks!  We also had fireworks debris falling on and around us-- NOT my idea of the perfect viewing spot.  We will know for next year!!

On Friday, we decided to hit the Blank Park Zoo-- we had not been there yet this year!  It was hot again, but I think our times spent at Disney World made this seem not so bad! :)

Emu.

How cute are these little wallaby's (wallabies?) lounging in the shade???

Train ride, of course!

Feeding the goats!

 J was not a fan of the goats eating out of his hand-- his idea was to put one pellet of food at a time on the ledge and watch the goats strain their tongues to try to eat it.

The llama had had enough, apparently.

The one and only elephant at the zoo!

Always have to make a stop to see the giraffes-- J's favorite!

J's other favorite exhibit-- the excavator!

And of course, we ended the day on the carousel!

Friday night we did something super fun!  We headed to the Valle Drive-In theater in Newton with some friends to see "Dispicable Me 2"-- it was awesome!!!  I think the perfect movie theater for J is a drive-in-- he got to play in the dirt, eat snacks, and see a movie (and being outside, it didn't matter if the kids got a little noisy!).

Dirty, dusty boy waiting for the movie to start!

Ruby is Jeremiah's kind of girl!!!

My silly monkey and his buddies, Ruby and Tristan.

Finally, it was time for the movie to start!!!!  And wow, was I shocked.  Jeremiah did not move from his little chair!  He sat there for the entire movie-- and he and Tristan would giggle and laugh together.  It was so cute!

Mesmerized by Gru and the minions.

We will definitely be going back to the drive-in this summer-- so fun!

The rest of the weekend we have just been relaxing and doing our normal weekend stuff-- haircuts for Adam and J, lawn mowing (J's favorite!), swimming in J's pool, etc etc.  Oh, and we're continuing the potty-training as well.  J is doing great-- will tell us when he needs to go potty, has kept even his pull-ups dry, and has even pottied in a few public restrooms (Jethro's, Bass Pro Shop, church, and Sam's Club to name a few....).  I think we can pretty much say good-bye to the diapers except for at night, and also for those darn poops.  He is NOT interested at all in doing a #2 on the potty. :(  That's all that is standing between him and his beloved crane truck..... but he's not ready to do it yet.  Soon, we hope!!!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful July 4th weekend!  Happy Birthday America!