4th of JULY!

Well, would it be a holiday weekend without trying to squeeze in another project?! Not at my house is seems. Our neighbor had moved out and offered us her old picnic table. It was still pretty solid but the top was falling to pieces. SO...I had Josh run to Lowe's and by some new planks for the top while I pulled off the rotting wood planks and pulled out the nails. We still had some paint left over from when we painted the play scape so we sanded, drilled and painted the morning away...

and sadly, I never took an after shot! However you will notice the table being used in some of my later posts (as I get attempt to get caught up on my blogging).

Then we were off to a BBQ with a bunch of friends. It is so nice to get out, let the kids run around and visit with friends. We started off at a near by park playing a little baseball/kickball. Here's Elise waiting to run to second base (wearing a skirt and wedges of course...always glamorous!)
Thomas was happy just knowing that if anyone came to take the kick ball away he had a bat near by to fight them off... He wasn't up for the the "traditional" game, more so just holding all the supplies. Here's Zac getting a quick tutorial from Dad for his first time up to bat...

READY....

and it's GOOOOOOOD! He was so proud of himself for hitting it he wasn't quite clear on what to do next, but hey! a hit is a hit!
After the games we walked back to the Thurman's for a VERY delicious potluck BBQ spread. I admit I ate myself silly (as did most). Thomas was in HEAVEN!

He didn't mind helping himself to more food...again and again...notice the pile of strawberry stems on the table (he was standing there for a while).

After dinner we had fun letting the kids run around with sparklers and set off a few fireworks. By this point Zac had about 15 mosquito bites (they looked more like goose eggs-poor boy) and had stepped on a hot coal with bare feet. SO, with the kids now exhausted from all the fun and excitement (Zac melting down with itchy bug bites and blistering burns but still not really wanting to go) we headed home to bed. It was a WONDERFUL day spent with friends. THANKS guys for putting it together!