the fourth was full of fun

the fourth of july always seems to be a really fun time for our family. in the past we have spent it on the lake with the blanchette fam or on the golf course at the country club with the bowlin fam. this year we began a new tradition- on the lake, spending time with both families. pop and b (those are mark's parents) bought a lake house in the fall, so this was our first fourth of july at the new lake house. the lake house itself is wonderful, but when you add family it becomes even better. we especially love the lake house because we can spend time with my family (the blanchettes) who have a house just a 20 minute boat ride or car across the lake. it is such a blessing to have all my family so close- even at the lake.

our little family. not the greatest pic, but i had to include it.

olivia loves to be at the lake because her family is there, but she is not so much for getting in the lake.

olivia and "rah-rah" (a.k.a aunt sarah)
notice olivia's shoes- this was o's favorite look this weekend... life jacket, diaper, and dress up heels. lookin' good o! a little classy (the shoes), a little trashy (the diaper), and of course safety first (the life jacket).
olivia and kingsley snackin'.
sweet cousins. kingsley, abby, and o.

olivia did go on a boat ride and loved it as long as the speedometer did not exceed 12 mph. oh well!


we went over to my dad's farm (yes, my dad has a farm just down the street from my parents lake house. it is his "hobby farm.") to meet the donkey, rico. they feed him animal crackers (his favorite treat). they also saw the miniature cows (sean and matt) while we were there.

abby petting rico.

abby and olivia went to the garden and picked some green tomatoes, yellow beans, onions, beets, and a green pepper. gram lois (my dad's mom) was teaching them how to determine which veggies were ready to be picked. the best part was bringing the veggies home and eating them. we had fried greem tomatoes for dinner that were delicious. fried green tomatoes are mark's favorite!


the fourth would not be complete without a firework or two. mark and christman gave us a pretty good show, but the neatest thing was sitting on the dock and looking in every direction to see "big booms" (as olivia calls them). what a sight!!

here is one of the smaller displays that christman and mark showed us.

it was a great fourth filled with precious family and the start of new traditions. can't wait for many more years together. check back for more july 4th entries. their will be another one soon!