Independence Day Weekend

We had a fairly low-key 4th of July weekend. The biggest damper on things was the fact that Kendall was laid off from his job the Thursday before the holiday, with absolutely no warning. It wasn't anything he had done--they layoffs were company-wide.

As far as holiday festivities, with a new baby we weren't up to braving the parade crowds this year. We did, however, let Adriana stay up much later than she ever has and she and I went with some neighbors to watch the fireworks from Stadium of Fire. She absolutely loved it, although we questioned the wisdom of our actions when she was so crabby the next day. We also didn't do our traditional holiday picnic outside, although we did have red, white, and blue pancakes and smoothies for dinner, which the girls loved.

Earlier in the week the kids and I did some fun 4th of July crafts at the library.On Sunday we went over to my parents' house for dinner and sparklers. After such a late night the day before, we didn't wait until dark to do the sparklers. The girls didn't seem to mind.
We also had plenty of time to play outside with Grandpa before heading home. Miriam doesn't quite get the rules of hide-and-seek yet. :)Monday was a lot better than Saturday had been. Despite it being a federal holiday, Kendall got a call around noon asking him to come in for a job interview. About an hour and a half and two interviews later, he had a job! Training for the new job will start tomorrow, and the pay and benefits for this job are actually better than his old job. Especially considering that our last stint with unemployment lasted more than a year, we are extremely grateful that Kendall was able to find a job so quickly. Without the stress of job searching (although he did follow some leads this week to see what his options were), this week with Kendall home was really nice. He took advantage of the time off to take the girls on daddy-daughter dates. Miriam was first, with a date to the water park and then slurpees afterward. Adriana saw how much fun Miriam had and then wanted to do the exact same thing the next day. They couldn't bring the camera there, of course, but here are some pictures from before they left.
While this was maybe not the most exciting 4th of July holiday I've ever experienced, it was good to spend time together as a family. And we're so thankful that Kendall has a job!