Fourth of July

Some of you know that Carter absolutely LOVES flags. ANY flag. So this fourth of July (like last years) was extra special for him. The whole month is exciting for him with the display of flags--stars and stripes everywhere. As we drive around town and he sees flags he loudly announces, "Hey, I wanna get that flag!" Even now that the actual holiday is over Carter keeps asking me, "Mom, is it still July?" He actually thought it was "flag day". Even though I've tried to tell him flag day is different and that it is in June he insists on calling it "flag day".

So, to celebrate we had some friends over....and it sure was a great time! It was hot day but we cooled off in the pool. Kurt grilled the basics....hot dogs, brats, and hamburgers made by a friend. Our neighbor friend, Mark, cooked the popular brisket and ribs. On top of that other guest brought sides and I took a chance on a few new recipes. Needless to say we had TONS of food and even more fun. I enjoy having company at our house. This time we had a total of 9 kiddos! Here are a bunch of them:

Later, Kurt took Carter to the fireworks while I stayed back with Hudson who was asleep. They loved the fireworks, and we were lucky since many of the fireworks around the Phoenix area were cancelled due to weather conditions. According to Kurt, Carter was a little scared of them at first. He was covering his ears. I warned him before they left that they would be loud. His response, "No mom, not the America ones. The America ones are NOT loud". His way of saying the America ones are not as scary...America is nice. ;)