4th of July

This year we went to my parent's cabin for the 4th of July.  Aaron was only there through the 5th, but I was able to stay for the entire week up there with the kids (so we were there from the 1st through the 10th!).  I hadn't been at my cabin for a full week at once since I was probably in middle school - so I was SO excited to be there for that long and not have to worry about work!  It's about a 3 hour drive from Rochester.

Lots of pictures, so I'll separate it into a few posts...we'll start with 4th of July weekend :) Most of the weekend we just hung out by the lake, and Aaron's tiki :) Aaron was so excited to build this for my parent's cabin...it's been talked about for about 2 or 3 years now so his goal was to have it finished by the 4th!  It was a hit - my dad was inviting neighbors down to have  a drink by his tiki and at one point we had quite a crowd, which is not normal for us Tarara's, so it was a nice change!

Aaron brought the lights for it and after this picture, we also had actual tiki torches put on this as well.  He did an awesome job - it is "collapsable" so easy for storage too.

The kiddos hung out a lot up by the tiki bar...it was right by the kiddy pool and our swingset that we have up there...which is Addy's favorite thing to do, so you couldn't get her too far from there some days!  Blaker hung out in his walker, or on a blanket for the most part!

Things Addy probably loves about being at 'the cabin' (or at 'camp' when she's in MI): she can get pretty dirty and I don't force her into a tub all the time...she gets to go outside in her jammies and play/run around...and she gets to stay up way past her normal bedtime!


Yeah, that's a face full of tasty goodies and a head full of greasy sunscreen!!



Learning the proper way to hold a bat in her jammies. :)

The boat parade at our cabin and fireworks were on Sunday the 3rd.  Addy sat with my dad for a little bit and drove the pontoon during the parade.  But things got ugly quick when we started getting in water wars with others in their boats!!!  The parade became a cluster of boats.  Addy and a few others on our pontoon were not so fond of the water flying at them (in the form of water balloons!)...so she spent the remainder of the parade after about 10 minutes of "driving" tucked under her towel on my lap (and fell asleep!). The little ones on the ground were not fond of the water fight either, LOL!!

That night my mom stayed at the cabin with Blake and Addy (who were sleeping) and Aaron & I got to go on the pontoon with the others for the fireworks.  It is so cool to watch them on the lake...not sure what it is that makes it seem more festive :)  There was a TON of boats on the lake too, seriously I think hundreds, but I might be exaggerating.  It was a great atmosphere.

The only picture of Aaron and I all weekend (together): cuddling with our adorable niece Brooklynn who was getting sorta sleepy by the end of the fireworks!

The day of the 4th was just a relaxing, sunny day on the lake!  The kids had made fun fireworks shirts for the holiday at their daycare.  They turned out pretty cute! You can sort've see that they were red, white, and blue fireworks in this picture:

But, I had also already gotten them some festive outfits (of course...I would be that mom!)...so after naptime I had them change to get use out of their other adorable festive outfits too.  Ha ha!

And this picture here....I think sums up what everyone should want to be doing on the 4th of July...whether you are 2, 22, or 102...who doesn't want to be relaxing pool-side on the 4th with your favorite beverage??? 

2 - 2 Cute!

We had Addy's 2 year photos done a few weeks ago - and oh my they turned out awesome.  They are 2 "too" cute :)  I am glad I had chosen to buy the CD so I have access to all the pics!  Had to share some of my favs!  Okay, so I couldn't narrow it down too well...so here are a lot of my favs (however not all of them!)





The Great Eight

Blaker's first year is FLYING BY! He's getting so big and is so interactive these days :)

He now army crawls EVERYWHERE...hasn't gotten up on all 4's yet though. He is going to be a handful...Addy never once had any interest in going towards the stairs, and Blake's already given me about 5 "mommy heart attacks" when I realize how quickly he's gotten into things he shouldn't be. AAAAH! Can we say BOY??!!

He now claps and will raise his arms up when we say "Soooo Big!". And he has got THE. BEST. LAUGH. EVER! I am going on vacation and won't be home until the 10th of July...but I HAVE to upload a video that Aaron took of him!!

He is starting to use more vowels too. He says Ba and Da very often. He absolutely loves his food and he is starting to eat more finger foods. When he wants to, he'll hold his own bottle now too. We have started to limit his pacifier to when it is time to sleep...but if he is extremely tired or something but not going to go to bed soon, we'll let him have it at other times too.



Daddy styled Blake's hair like his after a bath :) His hair is starting to grow in somewhat...

 Blake NEVER stops moving...sometimes he really gives me a workout with how squirmy he is when I'm holding him. And in his crib, he goes all over the place!

He's often in crazy positions in his crib. His head is supposed to be toward the top of the picture...not to the left :)



Daddy Shared His Ice Cream...he liked it! He sort've looks like he has a mustache in this pic...makes me laugh!!!

Addy and Blake are the best of buds. They really do love each other so much. I'm loving watching the sibling relationship grow as he gets older. He gets super smiley when she walks in...and she does the same. Always excited to talk to him. She's so funny...she'll go to him and say things like "Blaker, do you like my nails" after we just painted her toe nails. He usually just stares at her when she asks him things like that. Typical male/female interaction, LOL!

I can't believe we are rounding 9 months...CUH-RAZY! I don't want him to grow up!

Parade # 2!

Addalyn and I went to another parade this month with my sister Angela, and Rachel and Ella (Scheel).  We were all going to go as a family...but it was supposed to rain so Aaron and Blake stayed back and hung out with Rachel's hubby Jeff. 

Both parades we have gone to were a bit wet and rainy...but we weren't going to let that stop us from the fun!

This time around, Addy was into the parade from the first moment.  She was all about the candy and was dancing to the music, clapping...it was fun.  Parades really aren't that exciting overall I think.  For the most part they are all the same.  But, I love the innocent family fun they provide and entertainment.  :)



Loving the Parade!




Miss Ella!




Eating her candy...sporting her new necklace...and keeping her eyes on the sites of the parade! 

  The girl was extremely successful on the candy at this parade!  My sisters usually go to this parade, and they talk about how much candy their kids get...it held true :) 

Addy and I fell behind the group when we were walking back to Angela's house after the parade.  I grabbed this pictures 'cause she was acting so dang cute!  She was walking very "prideful" with her necklace and candy.  She would say hi to everyone we passed. 

The parade turned into a fun little mommy/daughter outing :)

It is safe to say that Addy loves parades.  The other night there was a parade in Rochester that was broadcasted on TV.  She was watching it and kept saying with excitement "Candy! Candy!".  Ha, we should've grabbed her candy she still has from the parades and started throwing it in her direction :)

"And when it rains on your parade...look up rather than down.  Without the rain, there would be now rainbow."