4th of July

Hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Weekend! It's great to be free! We are so fortunate to live in this country!

We celebrated a little early at our local fireworks night! They have venders and rides (which were free this year...yippy!) and you get to see everyone walking around! The night ends with fireworks over the Delaware Bay! We always go early and pull up a curb when we get tired!

So here goes....the girls wore embellished dresses (I bought the dress from Walmart for $7...can't beat that) ... and then I added the sparkler girl and other appliques. I am learning how to use the sewing machine and it took for-ev-er to do these appliques. I downloaded the designs from two places....swakembroidery.com and also from a person on etsy.com (kabodesigns). The capris were Carla's Easy Fits! I had the fabric in my stash.

The first ride was the ferris wheel....however the thing was whipping around quickly so Brooklyn opted out...smart girl. Daddy took Devon and the camera though :) We met up with friends so everyone rode together....great view from on top!

Brookie and I checking out the sights!

Sarah and her friend were petrified they were going to fall out....lol

Devon loved it!!!!

Sarah and friends went on this ride next.....I don't know how she deals with the spining but I would be much more afraid of this ride then the ferris wheel!

Look they emerged unscathed!

Next, they went on the swings! At this point, we split up and Edmund went with the girls and his friend to the kiddie ride section and I stayed with the big kids. They rotated between these three rides for a while!

Clown Alert ahead....for all of you afraid of clowns just skim over!!! ;)

Finally, we walked down to meet up again and who did we see.....but this funny clown guy!

He gave out stickers!

Walking more~

We met up with the group while they were in line for a ride! They had soda!!! yum!

After a few more rides we headed back to find a good spot to sit. We parked a few blocks away and had to go get our chairs and cooler (of soda and ice tea!)

I forgot to mention that Sarah wore a Mickey and Flag Tee. Aren't they cute?!

It was still pretty hot so the kids got some cool water ice! Watermelon flavor!

The girls sat down to eat whilst daddy chatted with a friend!

Night fell and the sunset was so pretty. We gathered with friends and talked and chatted as people walked by! We brought some snacks and drinks too!

Can you see Brooklyn's concerned face??? She hates thunder and fireworks rank right below that. She sat on my lap with her head buried in my chest the whole time. I couldn't convince her to even peak out at them. The rest of us really enjoyed the fireworks show! Eventually it was over and we headed home! It was a fun evening!

The next day's weather proved to be just beautiful! What to do??? We pulled out the pool and I cleaned it out and filled it up.....no easy task I tell ya. I bought a little pump but it still took awhile! I read a book (and took pics!) while the girls played and played...they thought of all kinds of games to play. I also scrubbed the deck chairs and tables and set them up. I can't believe what nice weather we have been having...usually its terribly humid and hot but it has been ideal with a soft breeze!

After several hours, we got out and dried off and had lunch on the back deck! We headed in because I needed to work on a few sewing projects! I made this 101 dalmations dress for Disney. Devon wanted the dress and even suggested the fabric and it is Carla's Simply Sweet pattern. The applique was from Stitch On Time I believe. I decided to add words with my new font from Kabodesigns. You have to move the hoop after each letter which is hard cause each letter is a different size. It worked out though it is hard to read....it says "Got Spot?" When I finished, Devon loved it and modeled it for me!

I spy Cowy! lol... she said he matched!!! hahahaha

Jumping for joy....our disney trip on about 117 days away!!! It used to be well over 400 when I joined Tour Guide Mike's website to plan out our trip!

So this day was Saturday...July 4th

The girls have really been enjoying riding their bikes up and down the sidewalk and around the block....here they are!

Sarah decided to get out and set up her horse barns and horses....she hasnt done this in forever. Summer is so great cause it gives you the time to relax and do things that take up time. The three of them played this for quite a while!

While they played I finally finished a sewing project I started a few months ago. I finished making the 10 kindermats for the preschool the girls went to. They are super cosy and soft. They have velcro at the bottom to insert the plastic mat. There is an attached blanket and pillow. They fold up nicely and tie with a ribbon! I am excited to deliver them this week!

Here is a sample opened and the rest folded up...quite a lot when you lay them all out!!!

I enclosed a little flyer too!

I started a website too for my sewing....here it is...

http://custommerrilykids.webs.com/

I didn't take pics of the yummy cookout we had....Edmund made ribs and burgers and coldslaw and we went to a market and bought fresh Jersey corn. At some point I know we had a yummy strawberry shortcake and can you believe we were too full to cut open the watermelon???!!! Maybe we will have that tonight?!

OK we are off to the real pool today and maybe the playground too! Enjoy your week everyone!