*4th of July weekend*

It seems like we celebrated this the 4th of July this whole 3 day weekend. Every day we had something going on. SATURDAY- We woke up bright and early to go to the Annual 7th ward pancake breakfast. There is always a great turn out of people and the food is always delicious! Since it's in the parking lot all of the boys bring their skateboards...and Dave & Kari Rich bring their Star Spangles Scooter. He was so nice to take the kids on a little ride around the parking lot. Mase had a blast! The plan was to head to the beach after but the darn clouds just wouldn't go away! So us girls and kids ended up going over to our friend, Chris & Stacy Circuits, house while the guys played a couple hours of softball. The kids all had fun playing, painting, digging in the sandbox, & wearing each other out. We had left our Lady Dog at home and she's such a whiner that we left the back door open so that she could come in the house and wouldn't bug our neighbors. Now, I am 100% against that because who know what critters or animals have ventured into our house. But, until we get a dog door, this is the best solution. So when we got home I walked into the bathroom and out of the corner of my eye I saw a little animal behind the soap on the sink. I called Mason and Bowen to come and look at our newest squatter. Turned out it was a baby bird and Mason thought it was the neatest thing...until I tried to pick it up. The little bird flew right up into Masons face and, scaring him to death! He was screaming and so was the bird. He ran out of the bathroom as fast as he could! -I'm such an evil mom, I was laughing the whole time- After i got the boy and bird under control, I took Mason in the back yard and let him pet the little sparrow. Everything was okay after that until Lady attempted to eat it. With it's life on the line the little bird flew away never to return. After all that excitement it was time for Masons nap! That evening we went to a Padres baseball game with our good friends the Galbasinis. Mason was so excited to go and of course he had to bring his baseball mitt and bat. We had great seats and even better company! Thanks guys for the tickets! SUNDAY- Happy Independence Day!!! I love the 4th of July! It's one of my favorite holidays. Of course we had church as usual...unusual testimonies...poor Utah/Arizona visitors probably think our ward is crazy. Oh well. That afternoon we had a new couple in our ward, Clayton & Kristin Austin, come over for a BBQ. With our bellys full and the evening setting in, we decided to head out to watch the fireworks. In the past we've gone up to Kate Sessions park to watch them. It was fun to see all the fireworks go up at the same time. But since the drinking crowd has shifted there from the beaches we opted out of it this year. Instead we met the Riches & Romneys at La Jolla Cove. I couldn't believe how many people there were! Wow! The fireworks were awesome! It seemed like we were right under them. Mason was a little scared at first and asked to go sit in the car. After a bit of convincing him the fireworks were "so pretty" he laid on the blanket with us. I taught him to "oooooh and ahhhhhh" at the them...which he did unless it was an especially loud one in which he said, "GEEEEEZE!!!" Waiting for the show to begin MONDAY- Bowen woke up bright and early to go surfing with all the guys. Mason and I slept in. Yesss! After breakfast was finished, the house clean, and Mase and I ready for the day, Bowen finally came home. I guess the surf was good!?! My only request for the day was to go to IKEA for some storage ideas. With Malachi on the way I've realized we need another dresser or storage...something...With not too much luck later we headed home. It was nice to get out of the house anyway. We picked up our new friends, the Austins, and headed over to Phil & Mindy Wings house for their annual 4th (but this year the 5th) BBQ/Pool Party. All the kids love going to their house because they have a slushy machine. Mason drank a whole cup and was literally rolling around on the grass from his sugar high. Of course no get-together could be complete without a few games of washers. In fact, there was a whole tournament set up. Mason noticed that all the kids were playing in the hot tub and he wanted to join them. So he ended the night with a good soak and another slushy. Like I said before, I love the 4th of July! I guess it's the spirit of everyone and their patriotism. God Bless America!