A Week FULL of Photos

Brace yourselves! I have been taking photos all week with the intentions of uploading them to my blog. However, time ran short, and I find myself now, a full week later, with TONS of pictures to share with you. So get ready for a workout, because there's lots of scrolling down to be done!!

July 3rd:
Independence Day festivities took place on Saturday the 3rd around here. Our town and a neighboring community come together to do one big celebration. We headed to the park at the fort near our house - a perfect spot to get a clear view of the fire works. It was really interesting to read the history of the fort. The kids took a slight interest, although I am 100% sure they did not fully appreciate the history of the place. As for me, I just couldn't help but wonder what those men who fought there would have thought about hundreds of people gathering on their battle grounds to watch air explosions for entertainment. Odd concept really.

We walked up to the edge of the fort wall and looked down over the river.

We took SOME stuff with us as far as food and drinks and entertainment for the kids while we waited for nightfall. Apparently, it was not quite enough, as the kids were hungry, thirsty and bored before the sun set.

Isaac did really like that we sat right by this big cannon, though. He had to be sure to go up close and check it out.

As night fell, the activity increased. At least there were lightning bugs and glow sticks (that someone was kind enough to give to us, as I was totally unprepared on my own) to keep the kids entertained.

(This is my friend's daughter. Would you believe that of all the people we saw, we actually almost walked right into Lisa and her family! I was so excited to see her, as I haven't talked to her since we left Michigan... yes, I MET her in Michigan, but she actually LIVES about 10 miles from us... funny how life works).

I TRIED to play around with the fireworks setting on my camera. I must say I was less-than-impressed. But we still really enjoyed the evening. The fireworks display lasted quite a while, and they did a really nice job on them. The kids asked if we could go see more fireworks the next day. Lucas and I, however, were all fireworked out. Have to wait until next year.

July 4th:

Although we had already been to the fireworks display, we HAD to do SOMETHING to celebrate the 4th. What better way than to play with sparklers in the back yard?!

Love the sites of summer and the 4th.

July 5th - Mudhens Game:

We owe a great big THANK YOU to our friend Kay, who offered us tickets to the Mudhens! Lucas wasn't feeling so great, so I took the kids to the ball park. None of them had ever been to a baseball game, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. They ended up really truly enjoying themselves - at least the boys did. Meagan had a great time as long as she had her ice cream sundae. And even after the ice cream was gone, taking pictures kept her entertained for a while. Of course, the mascots helped, too. But, in the end, her 5-year-old attention span won out. We stayed until the end of the 4th. By then, it was nearly 7:30, and we made our graceful exit, before the window for 'graceful' disappeared.

I couldn't help but be fascinated with the sites and sounds surrounding the stadium. Fun to look around and take it all in as we walked to the park.
Tony Packo's - A Toledo icon

The kids thought it was incredibly cool that there was an O-I sign inside the field. Had to take a picture. :)

(Seriously, you should try living with this girl!!)

WHY do I let my kids get a hold of the camera?! Seriously. It was almost 100 degrees, so any makeup I had had, if any, had long since melted off! I look, well, um, less than flattering! Oh well.

July 6th - Community Pool:

One of the things on our summer list was to visit the community pool. We went last week and got passes, so that we could make good on our goal. This past Tuesday, we headed to the pool and spent a good 3+ hours in the sun. It was a great time, though! The kids had a ball! Will definitely be visiting there again soon.