On the Monday after the 4th of July grandpa and grandma took us boating out to Folsom Lake. The kids all got a chance to drive the boat and we enjoyed a beautiful morning of bagels on the lake. The boat was having a little trouble so we didn't tube, but the kids loved just driving around in the boat!! Thanks grandpa and grandma!!!
We had a very relaxing 4th today. After all the festivities yesterday it was nice to have a relaxing day. We went to church this morning for a family service. They had great music and the message was geared around the freedoms we have. The kids were able to make letters for the soldiers and bring them to the service. The kids had made these letters this week and we got to walk to the front of church to give them to a soldier. I enjoyed the way Luke held his American flag during the service...right in the hole of his croc! After church we went to Chevy's for lunch (so un-American) and then headed to grandpa and grandma's house to swim. Grandpa was (pretending) to be sleeping on the raft when we got there so the boys jumped right in and splashed him. We spent the afternoon swimming and then had a yummy BBQ dinner. We headed home early since no one took naps today. Little Allie was pooped and fell asleep on the way home. We did a few sparklers in the back yard with the boys and by 7:30 all the kiddos were fast asleep. An early night for the VandenAkkers but we saw a great firework show last weekend and celebrated all day yesterday.
Antonio and Marta live across the street from us. They are a retired couple from Brazil. They are the grandma and grandpa on the street. They adore the kids and they are always doing fun things with them. Antonio always has a game up his sleeve. They have lived here for about 7 years, but are still learning English so we enjoy helping them out with the correct words to say. They lost one of their sons about 6 months ago in a car accident and as a result their 2 grandsons moved away to Washington. They were devastated and have had some very difficult months. We have loved seeing them come out to play more these days. We know they miss their grandsons a lot, but they still take time to play with our kids. They joined us for our 3rd of July dinner and Antonio played soccer with the boys and then taught them all some new games. Our kids are blessed to have them in their lives. Poor Antonio...Allie is so scared of him for some reason. He always try to give her a hug and she runs. Hopefully one day she will warm up to him.
Do you just love this girl's festive outfits? I have so much fun dressing her. After some afternoon naps we headed to the pool with some friends and then returned home to have enchiladas for dinner in the front yards. The kids ran and played until almost 9. It was a beautiful evening and the parents got to actually sit in our lawn chairs and sip on some margaritas :)
It's one of our favorite mornings all year...the neighborhood 4th of July Parade. Every year we get a little bigger and it is great to see more and more people from the neighborhood joining us. We had the parade on the 3rd this year, since the 4th is on Sunday. The kids had a great time decorating their bikes and preparing for the parade. Andrew even spent a half hour decorating a chair for grandma "E" We were so excited she stayed to watch the kids in the parade. Andrew rode his bike, Luke walked with mommy and his scooter, and Allie rode with Alyssa in the wagon. Daddy led the parade as usual on his bike. We had tye-dyed shirts this year so Andrew wore his, which he chose to write "firecrackers" across the front. Luke got sad in the morning when it came time to put his on because it felt too big, but he wrote "Thank you Soldiers" on his shirt, which I thought was so cute. The dads made a whole lot of pancakes after and everyone enjoyed a morning out in the street together. This is by far one of our favorite traditions!!!
