Gessell Guests

Alicia, Bryce and Addy visited us last week. 

That Adelaide is one charming little girl, even when she has a cold.

One evening after dinner at the prestigious Pizza Pie Cafe we made Bryce and Addy go for a walk around Manila Creek Pond by our house. 

We also hung out at the park on a morning that was much too hot to be outside without swimming. So naturally I let Bryce and Alicia play with my kids on playground while I sat in the shade with the babies. I also allowed Bryce to pull all 100 pounds of kids in the wagon. 

On July 4th we waited around all day while Daniel did yard work. We planned to eat dinner late so we didn't have long to wait between dinner and fireworks. We went to the Highland splash pad from 4:30 to 7:30, which was great because no one was there. 

Below is Sadie and then Alicia running through the fountains. 

We got home and cooked up a quick dinner. It was so nice to eat outside. Daniel thinks I am crazy but I love eating outside. 

Bryce & Lou had a hilarious noodle battle while Daniel got the fireworks stuff set up. Noodles are the best toys. I bought them for $.99 each and they have never made it to any kind of water, but our kids play with them constantly. I love that they can't actually hurt each other with them. 

We set up our small fireworks on the side of our house since we live on a busy street. 

Hey, it's me with no makeup/shower! And an adorable baby girl. 

Then we moved to the front yard for the main attraction. Our neighbors had told us that we would see fireworks all around Utah Valley throughout the night but I wasn't prepared for how awesome it would be. Several neighbors behind our house were setting off huge fireworks as well.  It's pretty much impossible to capture how cool it all was on camera, but here is a video I took. 

My kids had never seen fireworks in person. Elise kept yelling "dreams come true!!!!" It was the best. 

At 11:30 PM after the kids were all in bed we had a patriotic strawberry shortcake dessert. Patriotic both in color and in size, because, obviously, it is so American to eat massive serving sizes. 

Go America!
Not pictured: swimming at the Lindon pool (one of the most fun activities) and Alicia and I shopping for 5 hours one day.