Happy Birthday, Annastyn and America!!

We are currently driving home from a wonderful 4th of July and birthday weekend. We headed up to Inverness on Friday afternoon to spend the night at B&B's. We arrived, dropped off all of our stuff, fed the goats (and Barrett) and piled back in the van to head to the Inverness 4th of July celebration in the town square.

Granddad and Barrett share a snack


Feeding time for the goats!



How cute is this little girl?!



Me and my girls



We met up with Brittan's family and set up our lawn chairs and blankets and waited for the firework show to start. The kids got their faces painted, stuffed themselves full of funnel cake and popcorn and had a great time with the glowsticks that were passed out.

Barret's Rocket


Fun with glow sticks




Soon the sky was dark enough for the show to start. We all ohhed and ahhed as the fireworks exploded in the sky above the lake in front of us as the PA system played classic patriotic songs. I admit that as I watched the fireworks above me and listened to songs about America, a tear or two welled up in my eyes. I love the 4th of July and I love this country. I hope that as our kids grow we can instill in them a love of country and a gratitude for the many brave men and women who have, and are currently, serving our country to allow us these continued freedoms. I thought of my Grampy who was a World War II vet and I thought of the many friends we have who send their spouses, children, siblings, etc. to serve right now. Thank you on behalf of the Mitchell family.

Explosions in the sky



When the show was over we packed up and braved the crowds back to our van. Luckily we were able to follow B&B down the back roads and avoid the majority of the traffic. Yea for small towns and BIG fireworks displays--the evening was perfect! When we got home it was pretty late and we were certain that the kids would fall fast asleep, yeah right! How can you sleep when there are cousins to play with and giggle with?! We piled the kids into the hallway upstairs with blankets, sleeping bags, pillows and loveys and only had to tell them 101 times to close their eyes and go to sleep. Eventually the girls were able to drift off, but a certain little boy found his way downstairs to watch Daddy and Uncle Brian skateboard on the wii. Dax at one point needed to give a tutorial on just how to nail the tricks and after we hit the "well past midnight" mark we all headed to bed.

We woke up early this morning to Dunkin Donuts, OJ and fresh fruit. YUM! We all got into our swimsuits, doused ourselves with sunscreen and piled back into the van. We were heading to the Rainbow River for a 2 hour float down the frigid river. And frigid it was! The river is 68 degrees year round and on a day when the temperature hit 100 it felt like 40! My poor toes were numb as soon as they hit the water. We rented inflatable boats for the kids to ride in and that was the way to go, no need to get wet at all. Soon though the sun was beating down on us and it felt nice to be floating down the cool, clear river. We saw a baby turtle and lots of seaweed, but all the other critters were in hiding on such a populated day. Piper, Campbell and Anna Mae got out of their rafts and swam for quite a while, but Dax wasn't having it. At one point he tried to go from one boat to another and fell in...he yelped and scrambled over to me to be lifted out of the cold water.

By the time we reached the end of our journey we were hot and hungry! We headed over to Mimi and Poppa's house for hamburgers, hotdogs and ice cream cake to celebrate Annastyn's birthday. Anna Mae is four years old and loves dresses, as anyone could plainly guess by looking at her gifts. After yummy ice cream brownie cake the kids hopped in the pool for more swimming, albeit at a much warmer temp, and Matt headed off to take pictures of Brittan's parents farm.

Make a wish


Lucy


Horses




We are now driving back home and keeping our eyes peeled for fireworks over the interstate. The weekend was wonderful and just what we needed. We love our time in Inverness and each time we are there we vow to not let it be a long time before we are back again. This evening before we left Annastyn asked if we would come back next week--we'll do our best to be back soon. Thanks Uncle Brian, Auntie Brittan, Campbell, Annastyn and Barrett!! We love you guys!!