Fourth of July

What a fun holiday!  I love all holidays but the 4th always seems to be one of many peoples' favorites, including mine!  My oldest brother's birthday is on the 4th but unfortunately he lives in Minnesota so we weren't able to celebrate with him.  I hope you had a happy birthday, Paul!  We miss you and can't wait to see you in a couple weeks!  Like a lot of you, our day was busy from the moment we woke up bright and early for the parade to the minute we went to bed after fireworks sometime around midnight but it was all so much fun and definitely worth it!

I have to admit, this holiday was one of the toughest for me since Eli passed away.  I know Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays are bigger deals than the 4th of July but most of you know that I loved dressing Eli in new outfits and the fourth is the perfect opportunity to do just that.  Last year when he was still in the hospital I bought him the most adorable outfit (shoes included!) online hoping he'd be home or at least able to wear it but unfortunately that didn't work out.  I saw some of the cutest little outfits I could have put him in this year so it was definitely a tear jerker for me but I made it through and all is well :) I was able to see pictures of some pretty stinkin cute kids in their outfits so luckily I got my fill!

Logan and I woke up early so we could make it to the Murray parade with his family.  Moving out of Murray has made me appreciate the parade so much more because I hear so many people that live in other cities talk about how they don't have a parade or how small theirs is.  We were happy to go back!

 

After the parade we went out to breakfast with Logan's family and it was delicious!  Following breakfast (which really happened closer to lunch time) we visited our little man at the cemetery and put flags near his headstone.  I love visiting Eli any time but holidays are extra special.  After visiting the cemetery we went to see How To Train Your Dragon 2 with Logan's family.  I wasn't a huge fan of the first one but I thought the second one was great!  I would love to have that one in our collection at some point.

After the movie we met up with my family at the home of some of our dearest friends for a BBQ and swimming in their pool.  Later that night we all went over to the fireworks in Holladay and they were actually quite impressive!  The song choices were a little odd but the fireworks were really long so we loved it.  For some reason I didn't take a single picture but we had a blast.  There's something so great about spending quality time with friends you've known since the day you were born.  We had such a good time and are so grateful to the Neff family for being so wonderful to us.  We sure love you guys!  

Late Friday night my brother's wife Staci went into labor just a couple days past 36 weeks.  Around 10:00am on Saturday morning they did a C-Section and their little Liam Blake was born happy and healthy at 6lb 2oz and 18in long!  He is doing so well and we couldn't be more grateful and excited to welcome a new member to our family!

Lily loves Liam already and is going to be a great big sister!

This little guy's name is pretty special.   My brother Blake served his mission in Ireland and most of you probably know that Liam is Irish for William, which is my dad's name, so it has always been one of Blake's and Staci's favorites.  Congrats to you both!  We are so happy for you and love that little man to pieces already!