Our "Stay"cation

Jared had to put in over 15 hours of work over the 4th weekend. The kids were disappointed since they had wanted to go camping so we had a staycation. While Jared worked late on Friday, we pulled out the tent and set it up. Then we grilled corn on the cob (which I don't normally like grilled but I found the best recipe) and pomegranate chipotle chicken. When Jared got home we made a peach berry cobbler in the dutch oven in my patio firepit. The kids were all excited to sleep in the tent. Jacob was extremely excited and I realized we haven't done much camping since he's been born. Couple that with the fact that our last few camping trips have been rained out. I'm not just talking a little rain, I'm talking floods and mudslide causing rains. Anyway, it was comforting to know that if it did rain we were yards away from the house and the tent could remain in its spot until dry.
Saturday Jared got up and worked from home while Jacob watched Toy Story. The girls and I got decked out in dress-ups and headed to a "Tea Party" hosted by Lisa and Melody

Afterwards, we went swimming at the YMCA. We ran into the Bishop there and when we found out his wife was out of town, we invited him to see the fireworks with us. We met the Pearsons downtown and also ran into the Westons. When we got home the kids insisted we sleep in the tent again despite the late hour.

Jacob and his 2 closest friends (Tyler Weston and Elijah Pearson)
Xandy and Aria
Bella, Rochelle, Isaac, Levi, Joseph, and Katy
The Weston family
Jared, Jake, and the Bishop

We love watching the fireworks under the arch, Its so beautiful. There are usually great bands playing but this year was John Legend and none of us were big fans. He brought out and different crowd of people and since the river is still swollen the road the stage was on last year was under water so the stage was up by the arch. It made for a less family friendly environment than last year, but we still had a great time!

Sunday after church and a wonderful afternoon nap (it was really HOT, we napped inside and poor Jared had to get a few hours of work in so he missed out) we went to the Ryan's home for a BBQ. The Westons, Kraudes, Fousts, some of the other Reeds, and the Elders were also there. I hadn't felt well off and on all weekend and Sunday was the worst. I opted to sleep inside Sunday night and Jacob walked in the house and straight up to his bed where he promptly fell asleep. So Jared and the girls camped without Mom and Jacob.

Monday morning Jared worked from home some more. After he finished up, we took a family bike ride and then met the Lindsays and Porters at the pool again. I noticed on the way home that my swim suit had patches wearing out. Jacob and Bella took a nap, Jared got some more work in, and the older girls and I headed to Kohl's for some swimsuit shopping. After a quick dinner, we went Mini-golfing with the Pearsons. It was a fun and busy weekend. We were so busy we didn't even have time for sparklers until last night!