The 4th of July!

Miss Independent,

Let's talk about the 4th of July.

You have a brilliant mind that, like a sponge, soaks up every single piece of information I give you.  This includes educational facts and awful/silly sayings that I tend to say like, "Oh my goodness! Seriously?"

So, for the summer, I've taken it upon myself to teach you the letters of the alphabet.  And for the 4th of July, we were on the letter "A."  That's perfect for America, right?  I thought so.  We got to paint American flags.  You have a clear understanding that our flag is red, white, and blue.  You know that we live in New Mexico and can point to it on a map.  You understand that Nonna and Bill live in Florida and can also point to it on a map.  You also know that our current president is Barack Obama.

 

 

For the 4th, we had a family stay-cation.  That means we vacationed close to home.

We spent the morning at the parade, here in Los Lunas (after Mommy went for a 6-mile run).

Then, we came home and relaxed until about 3 o'clock when we hopped in the car and drove North to good ole Albuquerque.

We checked into the Hyatt hotel. Then drove down to the target so that we could get a few things for the weekend (like new bathing suits for you kids!). After target, we skipped on over to the mall where we shared some French fries and you and Daddy rode the carousel.

After the mall, we went on over to the ball park to watch the Isotopes play Iowa.  We enjoyed hot dogs, burgers, cotton candy, and ice cream! Yum.  The Isotopes lost. But we got a great fireworks show at the end!

You were so awesome.  You yelled, "Go Topes! Go fireworks!"  You even tried whistling like Daddy.  But really you were just sticking your fingers in your mouth and screaming.  I think it drove the people in front of us crazy but it was the best!

 

 

When we woke up in the morning, we enjoyed the hotel's fine continental breakfast.  You got to eat in bed while watching cartoons.  What a lucky girl!  Notice you have pancakes, fruit and donuts. Breakfast of champions!

Then we went for a dip in the pool.  The water was in the shade so it was a bit cold but you had fun anyways.  I wonder if you had any memories of Florida pop up in your mind.

Can't forget pictures from the parade. 

Silly faces.

 

When we left the hotel, we went to lunch at BJ's then to the zoo!

It was a long, busy few days.  By the end of it, we were glad that we were only 40 minutes away from home because there was no where else we'd rather be.

I am so happy that we live in America.  I am grateful for our freedoms.  And I am SO grateful for those men and women who sacrifice so that I can live the way I do.  We are so blessed.

Love you girl,

Mom