4th of July fun

We had such a wonderful 4th of July weekend! It was jam packed with cookouts and new friends.  I had some neighbors over for a cookout on Thursday, and we had a great time getting to know them.  I think our families are going to be great friends.  

Then on Saturday, I took my oldest girl out for some shopping and lunch and a haircut, which was the first time in ages that she and I had done anything special together.  My younger daughter is dying for a 'mommy-date' now, so we'll have to make that happen soon.

After a nice nap, we went over to our friends' house for dinner, which was lovely, and then the doorbell rang and it was a crowd of our church members showing up for our surprise party! They gave us tons of groceries and gift cards, which was a HUGE blessing to us, especially since we started over with an empty pantry when we got here.  So now we're all stocked up.

On Sunday, we went to church, then we spent the afternoon swimming and cooking out at our friends' house, and then we got to see a massive amount of fireworks get set ablaze by some preteen boys.  We made it through with only a few sparkler burns (EVERY year my kids try to do sparklers barefooted, and every year I forget until someone steps on one, and then we make them all get shoes on.  You'd think we'd remember sooner.)  

Anyway, on Monday we went over to yet another neighbor's house and had another cookout and then went to the golf course to see the city's fireworks display.  We went to see fireworks every year when we lived in Dallas, and I couldn't stand it because it was so hot and so buggy and SO much traffic trying to get in and out of Fair Park or Addison or wherever we went, and then SUCH a long walk while lugging a cooler and chairs and all.  We always had to wait in traffic for an hour to leave with a car full of cranky tired little ones. Not my idea of fun.  Then several people here told us that the city fireworks were SO crowded, and we would never find a good parking spot, and what a hassle it was, etc., so I was kind of reluctant to go.  But we did go, and we laughed - heartily- at what small town traffic looks like.  It was a breeze!  We parked 20 feet from the viewing area and got home in 10 minutes.  It was also 78 degrees and there were no mosquitoes out.  It was seriously the most enjoyable and least crowded 4th of July I have ever been to.  I am constantly cracking up at living in a small town.  I think it is for me.