fourth of july 2013!

we had such a fun time celebrating the 4th!! 

the 3rd is my mother in law kathy's birthday, so we had dinner and played games with her until they went to bed. after celebrating, jon and i packed up the car and left san antonio for austin! we drove directly to a nice little neighrbohood and set up shop! we slept happily but uncomforatbly in the land cruiser. we woke up and brushed our teeth on the side of the car and were packing up when the neighbor came out to take out his trash. he came up to jon and told him he liked his car and thanked jon for his service. jon told him we slept in front of his house in preparation for the parade and the neighbor didn't care at all! people here are so nice. he also let us know that the parade was just a little neighborhood thing and it wouldn't be too crowded....we are so used to california. 

the parade was indeed a little neighborhood thing, but it was so cute! we loved being there with all these nice and happy texans. butttt.....

the best part of the day was hanging out with this girl!!!! she is selling over the summer in dallas and her and her friends came down to celebrate the fourth! she is the main reason we went to austin, and we had so much fun!!! the first place we went to was a river that looks shallow in these photos. there was an area of the river that was about 12 feet deep and had rocks we could jump off of and stuff. it was a ton of fun and the water was perfect. i love laughing with jessie so much and always remember why we have been friends forever. i laughed so hard while jon was splashing us and we were splashing each other. so childish! 

our next destination was hamilton pool. 

it was so amazing!!! i wish these pictures did it justice. we hiked 1/4 of a mile down to the pool on a pretty trail and then came upon this wondrous view. the water was a bit chilly....but once you got in, it was awesome. my pictures don't show it, but there was water dripping from the rocks all along the top creating little waterfalls. it seemed like a good idea to hang out underneath them, but it felt like a waterfall of bb's if you catch my drift. 

this is a good picture of one of the 'waterfalls'.
very painful i tell you.

we got bbq for dinner with our new friends and had a good time. then we split up which wasn't a good time and gave me separation anxiety. jon and i weren't sure where we wanted to watch fireworks, so we just started driving. we stopped in blanco and asked a policeman where the fireworks were being held and he referred us to a teeny tiny town 20 minutes away called albert. 

it was really nice! there was a bar and a dance hall and that's about it. we tried ordering food at the bar and the lady sent us to the pavilion where there was a family/town? barbecue going on which meant free food for everybody! plus a little fireworks show which was really cool since they were RIGHT in front of us. i was a little bit frightened though since 1/3 of the fireworks were going off on the ground instead of up in the sky, but what do you do?

i love celebrating the 4th with my man, it is always something new and adventurous. i love america so much. it seems like we truly celebrated independnece day at church the sunday before when we sang america the beautiful and the star spangled banner. chills for days.

i wasn't mad coming home to these puppies:

homemade fried pickles from kathy:

and jon holding a toad he found in the driveway:

obama's speech.

"It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory - hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

Servicemen hang off a lamppost near Ground Zero and cheer news of the death of Osama bin Laden

A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

"The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who's been gravely wounded.

So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defence of our citizens and our friends and allies. 

We will be true to the values that make us who we are. 

And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to Al-Qaeda's terror: 
Justice has been done."

Barack Obama's full speech.

God Bless America.

july 3-4th.

i know this is late. here is how we spent the fourth of july weekend.

rode Nephi's fixie. fixxy? phyquesie?

gawked at nephi's muscles. 

ate at BXMBURGER!!
ha.
new little burger joint on main street in huntington beach.

decorated our bikes for the occasion. 

celebrated america. 

dressed accordingly. 

loved each other. lots. 

snoogled. 

wore star stickers and took unflattering pictures that made my arm look bigger than my body.

seriously loved and appreciated america. 
(NO i didn't cry during the parade)
(also, worked on our picture smiles)

enjoyed the parade from our usual spot

got face paint from little kids in the parade. cutie!!

had fun together!

were reborn in the swimming pool. 

sacrilegiously walked on water. 

waved a lot. 
(don't know why jon ruined this picture i was talking of nephi in the pool..ss)

baked festive fun cupcakes!
(worked on jon's picture smile. see how good he's doing?)

hung out as twins. 

smiled big big big. walked to the fireworks on the beach.

watched the fireworks.
they were shot off the pier. this is the finale. Ruby's is on the right of the picture.


it was a fabulous weekend! we loved spending time with amanda and nephi, as always. 
i love america so much! i am so grateful to be able to do such fun things all the time.
it's always so fun to celebrate a holiday as a nation and celebrate our freedom. 
GOD bless america!