the fourth of july

the day started early for a few of us...pat got sawyer {and joshua} up before 6 am to go fishing on the pier. he was SO excited!!

i got up at the same time and ran 12 miles. i was also so excited :-)

festive breakfast

and lots of Ellie holding!

i wasn't sure how much beach time i would get with hannah...but we got a few hours in on a few different days, thanks to my parents and john for watching ellie at the house! those were some of my favorite hours!

steve and levi. my brothers are amazing uncles.

because of the EARLY wake-up call, and the fact that we'd be up late watching fireworks, i asked him to just lay down for a few minutes. he was asleep SO fast :-)

heading back to the beach for fireworks after dinner!

it sounds and looks so fun. and it was kinda fun. but it was also SUPER windy, which can be painful when you're sitting in sand (ouch!) so we only watched some of the fireworks...and then headed home. it was a great decision! we all had to take showers when we got home...we had sand in EVERY crevice - yuck!

we also lost one of joshua's flip flops. it was used as the side of a goal when they were playing soccer, and then we couldn't find it once it got dark. it wouldn't be a big deal...except he got them in brazil and LOVES them. pat and joshua and lincoln (cause he's always awake) got up early the next morning and went to look for it. they looked and looked. then, pat said he prayed. and then he looked over and SAW it! so amazing.

very thankful for the many freedoms we have living in this country of ours!