Grant's Birthday & 4th of July

My sweetie turned 33 on the 3rd. Parker and I took him lunch downtown and ate in the park. Later, I dropped Parker off at Cam and Wendy's and took Grant out to dinner. We went to The Brazil Grill. It is a churrascaria, which means they have many servers that walk around with swords of all kinds of meats on them and there is a salad bar. Amazing! and great for people on Atkins. :) Grant is so into biking. He bikes to work and back everyday-- about 15 miles round trip. He has gone on a couple of long bike rides-- to Salem (42 miles) and to St. Helens (about 35) and goes on pretty long rides every Saturday. He wanted to go on a long ride for his birthday. On Saturday, he met me at my mom's house in Albany-- 78 miles away! This is not the same man I married! We spent the night at my mom's and helped her with some projects.

Grant is getting a new bike for his birthday. It wasn't the kind of present I could pick out for him, so he'll have to pick one out himself. He is currently riding my brother's old hand me down mountain bike, but he wants a rode bike now. I did get him some bike shorts so he had a present to open. They are the baggy version with the tight, padded butt lining.

Happy Birthday Grant! I love you so much. You are the best husband and father. I have helped you celebrate your birthday for 21 years now. I can't believe it. You have always been such an important part of my life. I am so lucky to have married my best friend.

Our lunch in the park.

4th of July events

We drove to Ridgefield, Washington to go to the parade with Aunt Sydney. We had an incredible time. We loved being in the small town of 4,000 people and join in their community events. An average of 10,000 people attend. What fun! We just bought a new camera and we thought we got some nice shots.

I just love the small town feel of this picture.

The mayor. The city council were all on bikes.

He loves grabbing my hair. Ouch!

He also loves grabbing leaves. Then he tries to eat them.
Parker is very curious and loves checking out new things.

A very little girl on a very large horse.

What a patriotic dog.

My tired boys.

After the parade, we ate lunch and helped Aunt Sydney with a house project. Then, we went home, changed, and went to Hailey's in law's farm for more 4th of July festivities. We had an amazing time.

Parker had a lot of "firsts" today. First parade, first experience with hay, watermelon, slides, trampolines, and fireworks. He did pretty well. Unfortunately, his naps were not long enough and mostly in the car, so he was glad to get home into his own bed at the end of a long day.

Love this picture. So sweet.

His friend, Sophie. They love each other.
He was babysat by her mom, Melissa, twice a week this year.

Yummy watermelon.

He was completely mesmerized by the fireworks. I was worried that he would be afraid of the noise, but he loved it OR he was just too tired to react.

I cannot believe what a show this family put on. It was like the Albany Timber Carnival's finale for a full 30 minutes. Growing up in Albany, we would go to the Timber Carnival for the firework show. One firework would shoot up and the audience would "Oooohh" then we'd shout, "Another one Ed!" And one more would go off. "Ahhhhh!" This beat out Albany for sure. No one was in front of us. No smokers. Just great people having a great time.

This was my favorite 4th of July ever.