11 days ago was the 4th

oh hey!

i'm finally blogging about the 4th!

the last couple of weeks of summer have been one giant whirlwind of fun and adventure.

and we've still got a few more trips up our sleeve before the school year starts

(oh, p.s. last night marks my first "back to school nightmare" of the season)

taylor's family treats the 4th like christmas.

and taylor gets so giddy for the 4th--it's quite entertaining. ha

the morning starts by going to the balloon festival in provo.

we wake up much too early (5:30am), and go find the perfect spot on the field.

watching the hot air balloons fill up and take off never ceases to amaze me.

^and take a look at this sweet solo picture that our 8 year old neighbor snapped...ha! so attractive, right? I think this adequately expresses my feelings of being awake at 5 in the am.

after the balloons take off, all of the cousins gather together to play games, build human pyramids, and throw children into the air.

the rest of the day consists of the largest pool party known to man.

all of the neighbors, family, and anyone else in a 6 mile radius are at the gilberts for swimming, BBQ, and homemade ice cream.

my favorite part of the holiday was getting to spend it with my cute sister's family from sacramento.

i kind of sucked at getting pictures with her and my adorable nephews, but just know, they were there.

and hoorah for aerial fireworks now being legal in utah!

we got so many great firework shows sitting right on our front lawn, with fireworks just feet away from our faces!

oh, and of course we ended with sparklers and street fireworks--half of them being duds.

thanks, fireworks stand.

becoming a gilbert basically means I get two christmases.

the real christmas.

and then the 4th.

and who can complain about two christmases?

we finally are back from colorado--so I have some more exciting posts to come!

(we seriously fell in love with that state. and we are sooo tempted to move there.)

and hopefuulllly, I can become a regular blogger again ;)

you'd think I would blog more when I don't have a job for three months?

but, nope. sorry.

also, my cutest sister in law who I love with every bone in my body leaves for china today for six months.

i'm going to cry for about the next 10 days.

send me tissues and chocolate chip cookies, please?