So Much Ketchup

 

Woah! 
I have so much catching up to do! 
We, quite literally, have been gone more than we've been home the last couple of months,
which has been making it hard to fall into a routine.

But it's making it real easy to take 4 million photos, and not have time to edit or post them. 
Sigh.

 

So, here we go. 
My attempt at organization. 
Again.


We had my most favorite kind of Fourth of July ever!
We stayed home :)
{I'm kind of a home-body, can ya tell?}

 

 The girls and I baked and prepared food for a BBQ we'd have
with the grandparents later that evening.
 

I just {FINALLY} got a Kitchen-Aid for my birthday!
I've wanted one forever, but I could never justify spending all of that money just because.

 

But let me tell you, it's going to get a LOT of use!
Tay likes to be in charge of it ;)

 

Tay actually likes to be in charge of most everything.
So when it's time to give someone else a turn, she breaks out her grumpy face.

 

 

Once Kenners was done frosting the cake, Tay put on her happy face again:

 

 

 

 Because that meant it was time for her to arrange the blueberries.

 

Then it was back to grumpy because Sierra was in charge of the raspberries.
You get the idea.

 

 

And this year's cake went so much more smoothly than last year's.
Tay actually said to me:
"Mama, I thought you said we would NEVER bake this cake again"
{I love how she can remember words I said a year ago, but can't remember what I've asked her to pick up two seconds ago}.
Ahem.
Yes, I think I did utter those words when last year it was a huge fight as to who got to do what.
Kenners stormed out of the kitchen.
It was not the family togetherness I had planned in my head.
{It usually isn't.}

 

 

But we did it!
With no fuss this time.
And it probably helped just a touch that Kam had gone to town with Daddy to pick up fireworks.
That left one job for each, without having to share.
 

Later in the day, we had my parents and Jeremy's parents over for a BBQ and fireworks!

And our favorite:
 

Sparklers!

The girls got the hang of making shapes . . .
 

 

. . . and letters. 
M for Makenna, of course.

 

Then we played a game where they had to spell out a word, I would take a picture, then I'd have to see if I could figure out what word they were trying to spell.
 

 

I think the "e" is backward here, but still pretty easy to figure out that they were spelling LOVE.

 

 

And . . . POOL!

The perfect Fourth!

And then we hurried our booties around packing up the trailer, because we headed out for a week-long camping trip a day and a half later.

Those photos to come :)