July 4th Weekend

On July 3rd, we dressed patriotically, since our July 4th would be so packed with other activities. I enjoyed wearing a pin and flag earrings that used to be my Grandmother Lyon's.

Tiling at Uncles

Carpet never belonged in kitchens.

Before

After

This brightly-colored antique has now said farewell to the Lyon household. Amazingly to all the cousins, a family in the neighborhood actually wants it for their retro kitchen. For the number of year we've been trying to get the Uncles to get rid of it, it's a bit amazing to us that anyone would want it. :)

Uncle Michael and Sam
(this was a short visit - Amber and Dustin watched
the boys during the big project on the 4th)

Taylor striking a pose as the tiling started

Stina working her magic in the laundry room

Chris with the tile saw

Mary and Stina braving the bathroom that I wasn't woman enough to tackle

This is after much much scrubbing - good job, Stina!

No words for this one, just gagging sounds

Ah! A new beginning!

Visit to Clawson Grandparents

We finished tiling later than we wanted to, but Chris, Brandon, and Ashton still wanted to try and go tubing in the Provo River up at the Ranch. We drove up and they got on their way late afternoon.

Brave souls

If you click on this picture, you can see Chris' face as his bum hits the water. That's why I volunteered to stay behind and make dinner. :)

Crazy hubby I have!

Bran and Ashton taking off

Chris

The last I saw of them from Grandparents' house - Chris and Ashton had a decent time, but it was very cold, especially given the late start. Bran had a much less pleasant time, but was still a good sport about the whole ordeal. We really enjoyed dinner and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa (videos at bottom of entry). Fresh corn on the cob... mmmmm...

Fireworks

We raced back down from the Ranch in an effort to beat the Stadium of Fire traffic. We won! Only a few minutes after we got home, the fireworks started, so we took the boys across the street, spread out a blanket, and let them stay up even longer. Niko needed a diaper change and "got away" from Chris, so we let him run around naked a while. We just love that little bum!

Amber and Dustin came out to join us, too

Sam was very good natured about the evening.

Last year, we tried to do sparklers with Niko, but he didn't really get it. This year, he loved them! I was glad we still had a few boxes from last year. He had a bit of a painful lesson in the fact that sparklers are very hot, but seemed to recover well and enjoyed them anyway. :)

Niko and Sam in the swing at the Ranch

Grandma showing Niko how to play with the barrels