The Fourth

With the Fourth of July falling on a Friday, Tom decided to take Wednesday and Thursday off to make the Holiday extra long.  At first I was very excited, then immediate doom settled in, we had made a decision not to head up to Traverse City, so around Adrian we stayed.  With Tom home for five days straight and no out of town plans solidified, would we just get on each other's nerves?  Would the children just get bored and start fighting with each other more, and direct their anger onto us?

Despite my negative internal and immediate doominess, the long Holiday weekend turned out to a great one.  One filled with much time together and even a bit of adventure thrown in.  Wednesday and Thursday were filled with appointments, shopping, and even a last minute hair cut due to having extra hands around, I was able to actually do some things by myself!!!  It's amazing how easy a doctor's appointment for one child becomes when you only have to bring that child with you!  Meandering through a store by yourself is actually enjoyable and something to look forward to!

On Friday (July 4th) we slept in a bit and slowly got ready to make a trip into Ann Arbor and stop in at my Aunt Shaun's house to use her pool.  She was going to be out of town and having a pool so close seemed like the perfect way to spend the 4th.  We packed plenty of food and drinks and headed out, but first we had to capture a picture of all the children sporting their appropriate 4th clothing and by our newly painted front door:

Although a bit chilly due to a broken heater, the pool was a huge hit and the children swam basically all day.  In and out they went, and Zane figured out that with a life jacket on he could swim by himself.  His newly found independence and confidence made for a very enthusiastic boy.  

I have to share a little truth about Zane.  Has entered a bit of a potty mouth stage.  While at our neighbor's house on Thursday evening we told the children that it was time to go home and Zane blurted out, "Oh, Shit, I don't want to go home".  These neighbors are new friends and my face turned bright red while I struggled to stifle a laugh.  Now, at my Aunt's house, located on Ford Lake, there are steep steps down to the lake and Tom took the other three to do some fishing while Zane swam for a bit longer.  When he was ready to head down, he looked at the steps and said, "Oh shit, that's a lot of steps".  We are working at correctly this newly found bad habit! 

We even snagged a ride on the next door neighbor's boat, who insisted he take us on a ride so he could get out of fixing his dock.  

We rounded up the scattered mess and left for home to get some dinner.  All four children fell asleep within minutes, tired out by the days adventures.

Saturday we were invited by my Aunt (same one) to her and her husband's Lake Columbia lot.  It's a mere 20 mins from our house, so we couldn't pass up some lakeside fun.  They parked their camper and had lots of family and friends out to enjoy the water.  We went on a long pontoon ride around the suprisingly large lake.  The calming sound of the motor and gentle sway of the waves put Zane out and left drool on Tom!  

We left just before the Fireworks, sadly missing them yet again this year,  but the evidence points to our children not being ready to stay up that late with their early next morning rising and complaints to go home before anything exciting happens.  One year we will make it up late, but they continually show us that they are not ready to handle it just yet.  

Sunday came and we enjoyed a very lazy day.  We played a bit outside, but mostly enjoyed our last day together.  Tom did not annoy me and to be frank, I loved being around him for the full five days.  We laughed, held hands, stuck together on discipline and backed each other up, and genuinely enjoyed our time together alone in the evenings and during the day as a family.  

Vacation was good.