Independance Weekend

The 4th of July for us was celebrated over a couple days. To our Canadian friends and family, we still love Canada and have not abandoned you but it's hard not to be patriotic toward our foster country during the excitement that is Independence Day. The festivities began on Sat (3rd) here at our place. We had a few friends come over for a BBQ and to make some hand tossed ice cream. John has been too absorbed in studying that the camera has not been out much. It could also be because Kristen was here with her camera and he feels that she can do a better job anyway. Check this out for documentation of all the fun. Thanks again Kristen for the amazing kabobs and yummy ice cream and to the Tutts, Karlsons and Bradshaws for some great times!

Sunday we did the unthinkable. After church we headed up to Boston for the fireworks. Now here's the unthinkable part, with all three kids in tow! We picked up the Patels on our way up (so we made sure that the adults outnumbered the kids), and scouted out a good spot along the Charles River. We had a clear, unobstructed view of the barge. We settled in for the 7 hour wait till the fireworks began. I know what you're thinking, 7 hours with three kids under six?! The kids were awesome and The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular is well worth the wait. We ended up with a perfect parking spot and didn't even get stuck in traffic on the way out. Thanks Amit and Heather for joining us!

Settling in.
Some new friends
The best we could get out of the kids, I added the second one because I think the looks on the kids faces are funny. I promise, they aren't miserable:)
Dinner time for Bean.
Lady Liberty and George Washington.
Beautiful Boston city skyline.
The crowd at about 350,000, I'd say it close to doubled by the time the fireworks began.
The spectacular begins!
Ben was the only one John had a good angle of, but all of their expressions were pretty much the same and the show kept all their attention for the full 30 min.

Half a Year

That's right, my baby is 6 months old! I've always loved 6 months. As much as I feel a little sad that he's growing so quickly, I love that he can now sit up and pick up a toy. He sat on his own for the first time a few days ago and hasn't looked back. He's a pro, and he loves it. He would love for me to hold him all day and complains a little when I don't but he's a good baby. He smiles and giggles a lot and sometimes just laughs at the kids for no reason I can figure out. I wish he would let me in on the joke:) He also spends a good amount of time staring at John (maybe it's because we don't see a lot of him these days). Aiden and Abby continue to adore him. Aiden's primary teacher recently told me that they had a lesson on treasures and Aiden was the only one that came up with a true treasure when he said that his was his brother (and his new bike). He is almost never called Benjamin, occasionally called Ben and almost always called Bean or Beaner. We LOVE our little Bean and how could you not, just look at him!

Look Mom I can sit

This is Aiden and Abby saying "take a picture of us with Ben" then not looking at the camera.