Fourth of July!!

The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays! I am super patriotic and love my country! I truly know that this nation is the land of the free BECAUSE of the brave! Matthew and I really go all out for Independence Day and always paint our own patriotic shirts to wear during the day. We decided to share our tradition with Cydney and Cynthia this year and we are so glad we did! We all painted shirts on the 3rd and had yummy pizza! Then on the 4th, we all attended the Idaho Falls parade. We had to park on 4th street because all the roads were blocked for the parade and then walked to 18th street so that was a fun little walk to start the day. It was a great parade and lasted 2 hours! I loved all the marching bands! Matthew AND Abigail loved the fire trucks. She would kick really hard when they drove by (probably because they were so loud and scaring her) but Matthew refuses to believe that! Then we came to our apartment and Cydney and Cynthia got to see the nursery for the first time. It was a great moment with all 4 and a half of us in there. That was Abby's first time in her nursery and it was just such a peaceful moment between all of us. We ate lunch and watched Frozen because Cydney was dying to see it! After eating and taking some pictures of us in our awesome shirts we changed and WENT SWIMMING at Rigby Lake!! I don't think you understand the love that I have for swimming! I practically grew up in a swimming pool and the ocean. It is some of my best memories I have and I LOVE the water! We all had a blast! I am the type of person that just jumps in and that is how I get over 'the cold' of the water. Then I am fine to swim around since my body is already used to it. Matthew, on the other hand, is a slow and steady guy and it takes him around half an hour to get totally into a body of water. I don't know what it is - maybe because he grew up in a land locked state and did not swim that much growing up, but he just does not feel really comfortable swimming. I always watch him extra close when we swim to make sure he is doing alright. I decided to swim the length of the lake for fun and when I got to the other side, I turned around and saw Matthew about half way to me. I was so excited for him for trying but also really nervous he would not make it. He did! We had a few moments alone which was great and we skipped some rocks. Then when he caught his breath, we swam back except this time I stayed right in front of him the entire time and he held onto my ankle as we swam back. I probably was annoying since I kept turning around and asking if he was alright, but he said he appreciated it in the end. I think Abigail liked swimming too. Cydney said she was doing a few flips in there! Then we went back to our apartment and took quick showers to rinse off and made some yummy tin foil dinners for supper! Matthew and I love making tin foil dinners and make them ALL the time! Cydney and Cynthia really enjoyed them and then we watched Ninja Turtles (don't ask me....it is Matthew AND Cydney's favorite!) Then we went back to Idaho Falls for the firework show and it was great! There is just something about fireworks that makes you feel like a kid again, they are just so awesome!

Extreme concentration

Apparently, this is the PROPER way to eat cotton candy...

Going swimming!

All in all it was an amazing day filled with patriotism, fun, food and family! What more could you ask for!?! We got back to Rexburg pretty late which was fine, but the next day...I (speed walked) the Color in Motion 5K with my health coach Terra at 9am. It was great! I will definitely do it again and maybe next time run.....meh....NOPE!