4th of July

Our 4th of July was FULL! We started our day early with a walk up to the Peachtree Road Race.

My sister and step dad were running this year, and every year we love going up to cheer on the runners and look for people we know running the race.

Two years ago, we brought Tally up as a puppy and two random runners stopped mid race and asked if they could take a picture with him:

Last year we went up with Tal and my pregnant belly:

And this year, we brought the whole gang and watched as Ryan got into the action:

When my sis ran by, she stopped to give Ryan big kisses and even in the short stop, he and Tally recognized her right away and got so excited!

Looking for Aunt GG after she ran on :)

Soon after this, the rain started to come down pretty hard, and then when the thunder started rolling, we decided it was time to walk home. ;)

When we got back home, we all crashed for an hour or so before heading to the next part of our day.

After Ryan (and the rest of us) woke up from a morning nap, we headed over to Matt's sister's house for lunch and a mini parade.

A neighborhood parade was rained out earlier in the day, so we decided to make our own. :)

Back home, these two sat at my feet as I made banana pudding... not really- they each got a vanilla wafer to try and were still in this moment in hopes of getting another one. ;)

recipe here

Later that afternoon, we went over for a cookout and pool time with friends.

side note- this only increased my desire for a pool in the backyard of our future house. So. much. fun.

Love Ryan's crinkle-nose smile :)

After dinner, we came back home, gave Ryan a bath, and headed BACK out for fireworks. And this time Tal came too. :) We figured the fire works would probably wake up Ryan and freak out Tal, so why not just all stay up late together?!

Matt's sister found us a spot that we had all to ourselves!

Sweet Riley girl slept soundly while the rest of us danced and watched the fireworks. That girl. :)

This sweet buddy was such a champ all day. Sitting there with him, waaay past his bedtime, I couldn't help but feel so thankful for the past year with him, and for the service men and women who make days like this day possible. This 4th of July had me feeling extra thankful for the freedoms that I tend to take for granted every day. I guess it's easy to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life and forget to appreciate the simple freedoms we have, but man was I feeling aware of it this night.

Hope you guys had a great 4th as well!