4th of July 2013

My mom and Bill came up for the long 4th of July weekend. We had a great time snuggling babies and spending time together.

They arrived late on Wednesday, July 3rd and were a fun surprise for the kids on Thursday morning!

We had some family friends over for lunch on the 4th. I KNOW I've talked about them before, but our families have been friends since the moms first met back around 1989. 24ish years ago? My sister Kimi was in school with Becky's daughter, Jillian. Our moms found common ground as single moms and they quickly became besties. Our families vacationed together and I have fond memories of a hole-in-the-wall motel in Panama City Beach that we would vacation together in. (We went other places too) I have known Jillian since I was 9 (and her step-brother, Paul, since I was 13). Sometime when I was in high school, "Aunt" Becky and "Uncle" David moved to Tennessee. We didn't really see them for a handful of years, but we all reconnected when I moved up here 11 years ago.

ANYWAY, Aunt Becky and Jillian and Matt and little Molly joined us for a 4th of July lunch at our house!

They brought cake! (Well, cupcakes)

It's always a good time when they come over. Especially when my parents are in town and all three generations get to hang out together. :)

For SOME reason, Daniel thought he needed to eat his cupcake like this: (VIDEO) 

Someone was too little for a cupcake :(

The kids were pretty wired after cupcakes! (video)

We were kind of slow to get going the next morning.

After a late breakfast, we loaded up and drove up to Cool Springs. I think. I seriously can't remember. I do know we got the kids some McDonald's fries and ended up off Old Hickory Blvd in Brentwood to look at a possible location for our new GiGi's Playhouse- Nashville. Mom sat in the car with the kids while Bill and I trespassed.

That night for dinner, we hit the yummy Tito's Mexican Restaurant!

On Saturday we took the kids to Shipwrecked (indoor play place) and then had lunch at Twin Peaks (which, OMG! This place is a "breastaurant" and it was HILARIOUS when Daniel reached out and poked our waitress in her belly button. Who could blame him? She was pretty cute and her whole midriff was exposed for the poking!)

HAHA! At.ti.TUDE!

After lunch, Keith took the big kids home and we moved Alice's car seat to my parents' car and I stayed out in Cool Springs with them. We spent a lot of time at the mall.

(Here I am, SHOCKED by how expensive children's clothes are in J. Crew. Seriously, $50 for a pair of shorts?! They weren't THAT cute! Maybe I'm "cheap", but I can't justify spending that much of kid's clothes! I have a hard time spending $10 on something *new* from Target/ Kohl's for the kids to wear. I'd prefer to spend, like, $4 on a pair of shorts at a consignment sale than go to most stores in the mall!)

We got back home around dinner time that night and Mom and Bill left on Sunday morning. We had a good visit and look forward to seeing them again at the end of August when we will celebrate my mom's birthday!