Nice work, fire!

We had a great 4th of July. For the first time in my life, I didn't mind fireworks. In fact, I thought they were pretty awesome, despite the loud noise. Each time one lit up the night sky I shouted, "Nice work, fire!" and clapped for them. Mom and Dad chuckled, but I couldn't understand why they both weren't joining in with me, complimenting the fire for all its hard, yet lovely, work.
Deklan and I hosted a BBQ in celebration of Independence Day. It was a blast! Emerson and I were matching (as were our brothers) in our firecracker red and blue. It made for fun pictures for our crazy Moms. I also got to see my girl Lainie. She jumped right in our dancing/running around in circle time. Plus, Allison, Anna and Jacey came to hang out with us, too! Dad's smoked pork was "deeee-licious" as was all the food, and I got to spend the evening with some of my favorite people. What more can a guy ask for?

The long weekend provided the opportunity to get out and enjoy the weather. We headed over to a splash park on Monday. Daddy had a great time running through the water with me. I showed him how strong I was by hanging on the jungle gym ALL BY MYSELF, and of course Deklan and I had a good time swinging, pretend driving, and just spending time with our Mom and Dad. I love summer! We even wrapped up our special splash day with McDs and ice cream. As if it couldn't get better, Mom even played in the playplace with me. I know, who'd have thought I'd ever type that, seeing as how she at one time said she'd never take us to McDonalds and detests the germy playplaces. It must have been the long day in the sun or something because she not only let me play but climbed up and slid down a few times with me. Wow!

Daddy and I took a little time to ourselves over the weekend. He took me to get donuts at our favorite place. I polished off two whole donuts plus some oj. I love time with my Daddy!
The fun didn't end once the week started, though. We got a visit from Uncle E and Aunt B. They shared dinner with us and then got down on the floor for a game of run and tackle. I love spending time with them.

Daddy had a good friend from college in town recently. We let Dad have a fun day with his buddies and we headed up to see Grammy and Papaw and go swimming. It was great because Aunt Owi was there, too. I wasn't so sure about getting in the water at first. I was content to set on the patio and rock on the swing, eating a popsicle. After an hour of seeing Deklan splashing and laughing, I decided to try it myself. It was so much fun. Then Papaw even got in the water and played. I had such a great day visiting with them.

When we got home it was time to meet Dad's friend. I didn't get any pictures with him, but Mr. Nathan and I had a lot of fun playing soccer. We went to dinner with him and I ate sushi for the first time. I loved it! I had seaweed salad and four pieces of tuna rolls. Yum! My parents were so excited that I tried it...and that I enjoyed it. Mr. Nathan headed back to New York on Sunday after sharing lunch with us and some of Dad's other friends from school. I hope I get to see him again, soon.
What fun blog post would be complete without some pics of me and my buddy playing around. Emerson and Sully came over to swim and play outside with us today. It was, as usual, the highlight of my day!

Hope you're enjoying your summer. See you soon...