Sam showing off his cool bandanna. He didn't even want to wear it at first but I convinced him.Just one of many freebies he got at the parade. He even fought an old man for a t-shirt and won!
I get a little misty, because I know how precious our freedoms are in this country and too often we take them for granted. When I think about all the people overseas who are fighting for our freedoms, I feel nothing but gratitude and sadness that they can't be with their families. I hope that while we are enjoying ourselves with our families we remember all those who are sacrificing for us. I feel so blessed to be in this country and all that I have.
This is Justin Voller, he is the mastermind behind all the fun! He cracks me up! He reminds me of a grown-up Sam. In fact him and Sam get along really well. Let's just say they understand each other well. Him and his wife Michelle are the best! They have two beautiful children Jaxon and Bella who I adore like my own. They also have the funnest friends.We always have the best time. He always calls the morning of the 4th to make sure we're coming to the parade. Last year we slept in and were late. He will never stop giving us a hard time about that.. Anyway we love him and life would not be the same without him.
This year was especially fun because Ammon marched in the parade in support of the Obama campaign. His a huge fan and wishes he was 18 so he could vote. Alan says we are losing him to the dark side, but I'm proud of him for wanting to be involved. Go Ammon!! This is him with some of his friends handing out Obama stickers. Ammon got lots of cheers when he marched past our side.
I'm not quite sure what you would call this guy but he was pretty cool he was giving out toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste. Which was perfect because Sam needed all those things for his scout camp. They were travel size so it was perfect. It saved me a couple bucks! Yeah! Plus I loved his suit it was pretty sweet! Who doesn't love a man in tights? 
I love this little boy in the chicken suit. He was just walking around saying "cluck,cluck" he was so cute, and he stopped so I could take a picture. He seem ed like he wasn't really enjoying himself, but was being a good sport about it.
This is my friend Joy's son Eric who was staying the weekend with us. He wasn't really enjoying being at the parade but was a good sport about it anyway. We got him up early and I'm sure being a teenager and all would of preferred to stay in bed then to be at a boring parade. Oh well I think he enjoyed himself at least a little bit. I'm not sure he would admit to it though.
Jaxon (on the right) and some of his many friends. They kept themselves busy collecting candy. I'm glad that my kids have gotten too big for that now. Who needs all that candy in the house, it's like Halloween all over again. Sam did help Jaxon and his buddies get as much candy as they could. Sam is pretty sweet that way. They were pretty grateful!
This is Ammon with Congressman Earl Pomeroy who was nice enough to pose for a picture with Ammon who proudly displays his Obama sign. We recently got a Little Cease rs Pizza in town and Ammon is a big fan, so in honor of him Justin,Sam and Alan posed for this picture.
Earl Pomeroy and Ammon
This is Justin Voller, he is the mastermind behind all the fun! He cracks me up! He reminds me of a grown-up Sam. In fact him and Sam get along really well. Let's just say they understand each other well. Him and his wife Michelle are the best! They have two beautiful children Jaxon and Bella who I adore like my own. They also have the funnest friends.We always have the best time. He always calls the morning of the 4th to make sure we're coming to the parade. Last year we slept in and were late. He will never stop giving us a hard time about that.. Anyway we love him and life would not be the same without him.This year was especially fun because Ammon marched in the parade in support of the Obama campaign. His a huge fan and wishes he was 18 so he could vote. Alan says we are losing him to the dark side, but I'm proud of him for wanting to be involved. Go Ammon!! This is him with some of his friends handing out Obama stickers. Ammon got lots of cheers when he marched past our side.
I'm not quite sure what you would call this guy but he was pretty cool he was giving out toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste. Which was perfect because Sam needed all those things for his scout camp. They were travel size so it was perfect. It saved me a couple bucks! Yeah! Plus I loved his suit it was pretty sweet! Who doesn't love a man in tights? I love this little boy in the chicken suit. He was just walking around saying "cluck,cluck" he was so cute, and he stopped so I could take a picture. He seem ed like he wasn't really enjoying himself, but was being a good sport about it. This is my friend Joy's son Eric who was staying the weekend with us. He wasn't really enjoying being at the parade but was a good sport about it anyway. We got him up early and I'm sure being a teenager and all would of preferred to stay in bed then to be at a boring parade. Oh well I think he enjoyed himself at least a little bit. I'm not sure he would admit to it though.
Jaxon (on the right) and some of his many friends. They kept themselves busy collecting candy. I'm glad that my kids have gotten too big for that now. Who needs all that candy in the house, it's like Halloween all over again. Sam did help Jaxon and his buddies get as much candy as they could. Sam is pretty sweet that way. They were pretty grateful!
This is Ammon with Congressman Earl Pomeroy who was nice enough to pose for a picture with Ammon who proudly displays his Obama sign. We recently got a Little Cease rs Pizza in town and Ammon is a big fan, so in honor of him Justin,Sam and Alan posed for this picture.
Earl Pomeroy and Ammon
Alan and Me looking as cute as we can be. I guess it helps when we shower. We actually clean up nice!!.
Jaxon and Me posing for our annual 4th of July picture. We are hamming it up with our cheesy smiles.
Alan and our favorite baby in the whole world Bella.
We love her so much!!! Such a little cutie.
Me and Bella.she loves me still even though it's been about a month since I last saw her I can't believe how big she's gotten. She's pretty close to walking and has increased her vocabulary since I last saw her.
After the parade we went home to cool off in the pool. I wasn't brave enough to get in. It was a little too cold for me. Alan hard at work blowing up the floaties. We have to keep our boys happy and busy!!
Here Ammon showing off his buffed bod before jumping in the pool. I guess lifting all those crates at A&W really paid off!
After wrestling the shark for what seem like forever, Ammon finally got on. It's not as easy as you would think. It's a pretty tough shark. Good Job Ammon!
Sam was not going to be a wimp about getting in the pool. He went for it and jumped right in! It was an awesome jump!!
Eric jumping in after testing the water with his toe. Even though he thought the water was cold he was brave and went for it anyway.
The fireworks were amazing ! The City has a big fireworks show on the capital grounds complete with the symphony orchestra and I think a choir. Sometimes we like going there to watch and hang out with the crowd, but sometimes we just like watching from our backyard. We live so close to the Capital that we get a great view. The mosquitoes were pretty bad and that made it difficult to take pictures, but I manage to get some good shots. These are just some of my favorites!!
We ended the night with our own fireworks. We went to the Vollers since they live out of city limits in the Lincoln area. Alan purchased lots of fireworks and it's what Sam looks forward to the most. It was enough to keep the boys happy and busy for awhile. Alan acts like he doesn't like fireworks but then he really gets into it. I guess it helps that Justin is such a kid at heart.
Alan and Justin shooting off bottle rockets and showing the little boys how the big boys do it!
This is me showing off what I can do a wimpy little sparkler. That's about all I can handle because fireworks scare me.
Sam very proud of his loot and ready to show us what he can do.
Jaxon and Me posing for our annual 4th of July picture. We are hamming it up with our cheesy smiles.
Alan and our favorite baby in the whole world Bella.
We love her so much!!! Such a little cutie.
Me and Bella.she loves me still even though it's been about a month since I last saw her I can't believe how big she's gotten. She's pretty close to walking and has increased her vocabulary since I last saw her.
After the parade we went home to cool off in the pool. I wasn't brave enough to get in. It was a little too cold for me. Alan hard at work blowing up the floaties. We have to keep our boys happy and busy!!
Here Ammon showing off his buffed bod before jumping in the pool. I guess lifting all those crates at A&W really paid off!
After wrestling the shark for what seem like forever, Ammon finally got on. It's not as easy as you would think. It's a pretty tough shark. Good Job Ammon!
Sam was not going to be a wimp about getting in the pool. He went for it and jumped right in! It was an awesome jump!!
Eric jumping in after testing the water with his toe. Even though he thought the water was cold he was brave and went for it anyway.
The fireworks were amazing ! The City has a big fireworks show on the capital grounds complete with the symphony orchestra and I think a choir. Sometimes we like going there to watch and hang out with the crowd, but sometimes we just like watching from our backyard. We live so close to the Capital that we get a great view. The mosquitoes were pretty bad and that made it difficult to take pictures, but I manage to get some good shots. These are just some of my favorites!!
We ended the night with our own fireworks. We went to the Vollers since they live out of city limits in the Lincoln area. Alan purchased lots of fireworks and it's what Sam looks forward to the most. It was enough to keep the boys happy and busy for awhile. Alan acts like he doesn't like fireworks but then he really gets into it. I guess it helps that Justin is such a kid at heart.
Alan and Justin shooting off bottle rockets and showing the little boys how the big boys do it!
This is me showing off what I can do a wimpy little sparkler. That's about all I can handle because fireworks scare me.
Sam very proud of his loot and ready to show us what he can do.
Michelle was better with the sparklers than I was. She's not quite a wimp like me.
Ammon getting his rockets ready.
Ammon getting his rockets ready.
Ammon running away after setting off his many bottle rockets.
Jaxon getting in the action he's crazy about fireworks like all the rest of them. He's learning from the Best!!
one of Ammon's bottle rockets.
This is Justin relaxing and watching everyone having fun!
Jaxon getting in the action he's crazy about fireworks like all the rest of them. He's learning from the Best!!
one of Ammon's bottle rockets.
This is Justin relaxing and watching everyone having fun!
Alan trying to find the snake he was trying to light. It was pitched dark and he couldn't see where he put it. I don't think he ever found it.
This is actually Sam's smoke bomb going off. He was trying to annoy me with all the smoke and the smell but I just kept moving out of the way so he didn't succeed. I think I annoyed him more.
Alan enjoying his sparkler and taking a break from wild and crazy stuff!
This is me sweeping up the mess we made on the vollers driveway. It's the polite thing to do, to clean up after ourselves. We didn't get home until around 1:oo am , but we had such a great time. We look forward to more fun next year. We had only a few bottle rockets left. I guess we have a head start for next year.
Alan enjoying his sparkler and taking a break from wild and crazy stuff!
This is me sweeping up the mess we made on the vollers driveway. It's the polite thing to do, to clean up after ourselves. We didn't get home until around 1:oo am , but we had such a great time. We look forward to more fun next year. We had only a few bottle rockets left. I guess we have a head start for next year.
The only thing we missed was not being able to celebrate with our girls and other family. It stinks that we live so far away. We especially missed Leah because she loves all our families traditions on the holidays. She makes the holidays even more enjoyable. We hope everyone had a great 4th and maybe one of these days you'll come and have some fun with us. We promise you won't be bored!! This year we decided not go on vacation. Since we don't have a reliable car and gas is too expensive we decided to save up for a great vacation next year. Who knows where we'll go, but I know it will great Plus we are saving up for a new car and that may take a while because unexpected expenses are always popping up. It's gets a little frustrating at times but we know we just have to be patient.
Anyway, I love that our kids still like hanging out with us even though they're getting older and they could choose to be with their friends instead. What made the 4th a little hectic was that Sam had to live for scout camp on Saturday. Trying to get him ready was an ordeal. He had to pack and he didn't have clean clothes, he didn't have enough socks, underwear or shoes to hike in. We still had to go buy all that stuff and more just to get out the door. Not to mention that he gets easily distracted and we had to keep calling him back to his suitcase. He is such a crazy kid. He was looking forward to camp and I'm hoping he's having a great experience. I get nervous that the leaders won't have patience for him and he will get in trouble. Not to mention that the last time he went on a campout he fell through a frozen lake and everybody thought it was funny but me. I guess you could say I lost a little faith in the leaders taking care of my boy. So I've doing a lot of praying and we're halfway done with the week and I haven't got any phone calls yet so Iguess he's okay. He'll be home Saturday and I'm hoping for a good report from him and his leaders. I did ask his scoutmaster to take care of my boy. I know he knows what I mean by that. I'll just be happy when he gets home and I hope next year they won't plan scout camp the day after the 4th. I know Sam would appreciate that. He was complaining about how tired he was. I hope he got some sleep on the way there.
