We hadn't been back to Derek's hometown for the 4th of July in awhile so we loaded up on the 3rd and made the 2.5 hour trip to Galva. It was our last trip there before baby comes so we wanted to spend some extra time at meemo and papa's.
We got there early enough to go for a swim at aunt Jaime and uncle Bryon's. They know my love for La Fiesta so we ate there Thursday night and then Peyton lit off some fireworks for us after dinner. I was scared Collins wouldn't like the loud fireworks but they didn't seem to phase her. She'd jump here and there but she sat right by her cousins and enjoyed the pre holiday show.
We stayed up pretty late on the 3rd so we didn't wake up in time to walk the 5k on the 4th of July morning with Derek's parents. Bryon put the race together and Jaime ran it with the little girls (she's a rockstar for pushing that double stroller). We made it up there just after they all finished but got to see the kids run the kid fun run.
Collins practiced her fireworks with daddy after lunch and then she got a good nap in while I made my super difficult (not) dessert. After she woke up we went over to Jaime and Bryon's for their 4th party. We swam, played and ate the afternoon away. Collins loves their house and all their fun outside toys (pool included). She was in heaven getting rides on the power wheels from other kids and being pulled in the wagon. And then she learned how to drive the power wheel herself and I didn't think we were ever getting her off it. She couldn't steer it very well so we just turned the wheel and she went in circles 1000 times. She also learned how to support herself and swim with a floatie in their pool.
The kids did a ton of fireworks in the driveway before it was dark enough to head to the big show. We got Collins some smoke bombs and poppers but she didn't care so much about them. The big firework show didn't start till 10 (2 hours past bedtime) but Collins stayed strong and made it through the whole thing. Granted, she was pretty restless and Derek ended up standing the whole time with her. Lucky for him, the show only lasted about 15 min. She passed out as soon as we gave her a quick bath and tucked her into bed.
We also stayed the 5th to celebrate Derek's mom's birthday. I think Collins slept till 9am after being up so late. We went to the public pool with her cousins that day and she was in heaven with the zero entry pool, baby water slide and spray park. We came home to a yummy dinner, celebrated memo's birthday and ended up driving back home that night. Collins isn't very good on long road trips so we try to plan them around nap or bedtime. Next Galva trip we will have Brooks' in tow as well. Let's pray he's better in the car then she is.
