Happy 4th of July!!!!

I happen to really love this holiday. I don't care where I am in the world, it is always a very special day to me. I remember one year when our trip to Ireland had us missing the celebrations in the US. Rosie made sure that everyone had their Old Navy $5 t-shirt and that the house was decorated in red, white, and blue. That is, it was decorated until one of my mom's cousins stopped by for a visit and pointed out that the British flag is red, white, and blue and people might get the wrong idea. ha! Another year we were at my aunt Annie's house watching fireworks when a brush fire started in the backyard. Everyone starting running like crazy to find hoses, buckets, etc. Luckily the fire was out as quickly as it started. I'll never forget the year we got a call right before we started fireworks informing us that Jacob Darrell Gremmert had been born. The firework show was dedicated to him that year. And every year after. Jacob was probably six or seven before he realized that it wasn't his birthday that the whole country was celebrating. He seriously thought that the fireworks were just for him.

This year was another great celebration. We actually got to be in the Carnation 4th of July parade. Rosie was in charge of a float for Bridge of Promise and asked Troy to tow it. Bridge of Promise is a non profit organization that supports people with development disabilities. They do a great day camp every summer with crafts, horseback riding, fishing, swimming, go carts, music, games, etc. So of course when Troy told me that he was towing the float, I started planning the decorations for his truck. The parade was great. There were so many people there. The weather was perfect. After the parade, we went to Ixtapa. Its tradition. Troy, Maddie, and I met up with some friends at Lake Tye later, but didn't last long. Maddie hadn't slept much that day and was a little cranky. Mom, Dad, Nick, and Greg came over later that night for fireworks and s'mores. Troy and Dad gave us a great show. Nick loved every minute of it! Kaiser did not. He hid in the house the whole time. Poor puppy!

Here is a bunch of pictures from the day! Enjoy!

I'm a little obsessed with Maddie...

These next two pictures are from my phone. I just think they are so funny. The picture quality isn't that great, but her face is just so cute. And I love that she looks like she is shaking her fist at me. hahaha!

Here are a few pictures from the parade.

Michael Jackson

I have always enjoyed a good Michael Jackson joke. To be honest, I've enjoyed bad ones too. As I watched his memorial service today...yes I watched it, I realized that his life wasn't a joke. He had kids that loved him and miss him, he had brothers and sisters that will mourn the loss of a sibling for the rest of their lives, and he had parents that had to bury a child. It was very emotional to watch his family during the memorial service. I guess I expected it to be a big production with little emotion. I have mixed feelings about him as a person. On one hand, I love his music. I loved the entertainer. But on the other hand, I think he was Wacko Jacko. Regardless of how I personally viewed him, I'm grateful for the opportunity I had this week to reflect on my family. To think about how I would feel if I lost someone close to me. I am so grateful for my faith and the knowledge that I have of an eternal family.

Seattle Aquarium

Ryan and Tiffany came into town a couple of weeks ago for Maddie's baby blessing. We decided to go to the Aquarium while they were here. The kids had such a great time checking out all the fish and sea life. My favorite was sea horses. There were some that were born the same day as Maddie. It was really fun to spend the day together.

Mom and Dad

You've got to get a little creative when feeding on the go...haha!

Ryan and cute little Cassidy

Nemo and Dori!!!!!

Troy really tried to take a picture of us, but he just doesn't have the skills. Amy, you need to teach him a thing or two about self portraits.

I really need to get better at staying focused on one thing at a time.

Belfair

Troy's Mom and Shawn went to Belfair last week for a little R & R. So of course we decided to crash their party. Kaiser loved the beach and all the water. He just ran and played all day. Maddie did great. She slept the whole way there and the whole way back. She even slept while we walked around on the beach. It was a gorgeous day and we had such a great time. Shawn even made cheeseburgers!!! Delici-oso! (that's my attempt at Spanish...just for you Tiff)

Happy Maddie sitting on Granny Lucy!

She was a little hungry at the time...ha!

The mud was insane. It was pretty deep in places. The boys that were with us that day actually got stuck. Troy had to dig them out. Kaiser thought it was great to run around in. We were really glad that we had shaved Kaiser the day before. He was so easy to clean up with his hair so short.

I was a little paranoid about sun exposure with Madison. She even had jeans and socks on! Poor baby! Even with all the precautions, she still got a little pink on her face.

Lucy and her girls

Kaiser loves Callie.

The New and Improved Kaiser Linn!

Last week I had just had it with all the dog hair around our house. I would vacuum the rug, empty it, and vacuum again. And hair was still everywhere. Something had to change and unfortunately for Kaiser, it was him...

We laughed and laughed when we first picked him up because of his great farmer's tan. I'm starting to get used to it now and I think he looks cute. And my house is hair free! Lisa, the groomer we took him to, said that in the next week or so it will start to blend more and he'll look really good. He looks like a totally different dog now. I keep saying that it looks like we took Kaiser's head and put it on another dog's body. ha!

Cousins!!!

Maddie finally got to meet her cousins!!! Aidan, Lacey, and Cassidy came all the way from Kentucky to attend her baby blessing and to see her for the first time. We had a huge BBQ after church to celebrate Maddie's big day with our family. It was so fun to spend some time all together! Here are some pictures from today...

Maddie's Two Month Birthday

We had big plans for Maddie's two month birthday. Troy's Granny passed away last April and we had been waiting to do her temple work until Maddie was old enough to have Granny Eva babysit her. We decided that this weekend was perfect and Troy's aunt and uncle even drove from Montana to be here. But little did we know that there were other plans in store for us. As we headed out of Monroe on Saturday morning, we were rear ended by a F-250 pick up truck We were at a dead stop and the truck was going about 30 mph. We were in the Focus so there was some damage to our car and nothing wrong with the truck. Isn't that always the way it happens? Maddie didn't even wake up when we were hit, but I was worried about her anyway because Troy and I both had sore necks and backs and headaches. So when we were at the hospital getting checked out we had the doctor look her over to. Granny took a picture of Maddie's first ER visit and I decided that just had to be her picture for her two month birthday.

We are still sore and probably will be for awhile yet, but I'm so grateful that that is all we are dealing with and everyone is fine. We were definitely protected and watched over.