our 4th of July weekend

My face looks stupid but I love Mia's look of excitement! She loved the parade! 

Can't help it, look at that face!! Had to post!

We witnessed a horrible tragedy and experienced heartbreak over the weekend, but we also had an amazing time with family and Mia had a fun few firsts!

Eric's hometown puts on the best celebrations for the 4th of July! The day starts with a parade where they fly airplanes over main street to start the fun. That was Mia's first time acting interested in an airplane and she looooved them! She also liked the horses and fire engines (surprisingly the sirens didn't scare her!) but her favorite part was... the candy :) ha ha! After the parade everyone heads over to the park where there's food, booths and fun for kids! Mia went on her first ever horse ride and I tagged along :) I'm positive Mia would have been happier if I hadn't been riding with her. Each time I placed my hands around her stomach or legs to steady her, she instantly pushed my hands away and told me no. Miss independent, I tell ya! Each time our horse shook his mane Mia would reach down and pet him :) Eric and I experienced a case of high anxiety as we realized our jeep key fell out of his pocket.... thank heavens for honest people who turned it in to the lost and found! I have to make note of it so that we always remember the stress we felt, we gotta be more careful with that small, expensive fob, ha ha! (But seriously.) We went home and enjoyed a BBQ with Eric's family, took turns napping, and took Mia out to play with the kittens. It was so fun to watch her get excited to pet the kitty's, hold them and interact with them. Mia was terrified of animals for most of her life, so it's fun to see her enjoy them! We left Mia behind for the night while Eric and I went to the demolition derby with siblings, niece and nephews!

Saturday turned out to be a fun day! My sister in law convinced me to go swimming with them at "the ditch" Um, what?! Eric stayed home to work on projects with his dad and Mia was napping so... what the heck! I actually had a lot of fun, but I totally understand what it means to make your own fun in a small town. I never thought I'd go swimming a ditch for fun, ha! That night my in laws took Mia again (2 dates in a row, holla!) while Eric and I attended his 10 year reunion! The event wasn't that amazing (I didn't expect much anyway coming from a tiny town with zero budget from the school) but we had fun with our friends! I can't really tell if Eric's glad I made him go or not... I'm guessing the not ;) ha ha! But we ended the night with shakes and staying up way too late once again with our family! 

It was so nice to have a long weekend with my family, I didn't want it to end! Mia had the best time being spoiled by her grandparents and playing with her cousins! Eric and I were obviously spoiled with date nights and were able to relax and enjoy our time together and with family! We don't get enough time like this so I was sad to see it end. Thank goodness the 4th of July rolls around every year ;)