happy birthday America!

i love 4th of July! back in California we had all kinds of fun traditions, and since moving here we haven't seemed to have gotten into our groove. it is really stinking hot here in July, so the community fairs with fireworks however charming, are unbearable. in recent years we have been lucky enough to have an open invitation to swim at our neighbors, which we love. the only down side is that we're there alone. you see, most Arizonans have a long standing 4th of July tradition - get the heck out of town! we have pledged to take this one on asap, but so far it hasn't really worked out for us. to our great happiness, another set of neighbors was unfortunate enough to be stuck home this year too. so we had company. we swam, ate too much, played with illegal sparklers, and had a fabulous 4th! thanks Wadsworths for the pool, and Johnsons for the company!

we had a lot of fun with Anna's new surfboard:

this is Maddie's version of hang loose. Anna used to do it like this too.

Daddy misses the ocean! but he has a good time at the pool also.
Madeline is such a trooper at the pool, she has the most sensitive eyes and skin, all the sun and chlorine make her itchy and uncomfortable, but she loves it anyway.

i can't get enough of this baby. she is just so perfectly sweet! she actually hates the bath, so i hadn't taken her in the pool yet. but once i did, she took to it like a fish. she had fun floating on the board, and was quite a little "swimmer." she kicked and kicked and laughed and cried for more!
Anna was pretty funny about the 4th of July, her birthday was on Wednesday, her party was on Friday, so on Saturday she asks, "are we going to have a 4th of July party to celebrate....me?" no matter how much we explained we were actually celebrating America's Independence from England, she stood firm in the fact that the day was all about her! Ariel and Flounder were her special present she picked out all by herself. she could pick 1 thing from target, and this was it. this is a gift she gave last year, and she remembered how much she wanted one. this girl doesn't forget a thing. she also got a bath time Aurora for Maddie, ostensibly to be kind, but maybe a little bit because she didn't want to share?
the water slide is Anna's favorite part of the pool next door. and i think it's Ariel's too!

good times!