If you have not had the pleasure of seeing these commercials...
And...
Okay! On to the fabulous Fourth of July weekend celebrating life, liberty, parades, flags, families and lots of little ones.
My patriotism runs deep. Very deep. I can barely hear the opening of "God Bless America" and I'm in tears. This also goes for "The Star Spangled Banner", which will produce immediate heart swelling, eyes glistening and a throat thick with emotion. I can't help it. Before being married and having children, serving in the U.S. Navy was truly the most meaningful thing I had ever done in my life. I moved to Washington, DC in April of 2001 and was working there on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
My Navy years were both magical and tragic. So much growing up in a short, intense time frame. It was truly the experience of a lifetime and it prepared me for more than I could ever imagine. It is another one of those life experiences that helped me learn to appreciate and love the innocence of our children. It has provided me a lot of backbone and strength to draw upon during all of Joey's trials and tribulations. For the years I spent as a Naval officer, I am eternally grateful.
We had more than our share to celebrate during this year's Fourth of July! Grandma and Grandpa were in town from Dayton. We saw lots of cousins and friends. Baked dozens of cupcakes for cocktail parties and BBQ's.
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| Grammy and Mommy working on cupcakes all afternoon. |
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| For the neighborhood cocktail party. |
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| Grammy made Joey a bunch of new bibs. Love them! |
The parade was wonderful! Super hot and humid, but it's July, so just have to love it and embrace it.
Could she be any cuter???
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| Joey is in love with Miss Meghan. She made him giggle, giggle, giggle. |
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| Grant and Tommy waiting for the parade to start. |
Fun hanging out with family and friends and celebrating all the joy of red, white and babies.
Joey and Charlie chilling out.
Trying to get a group photo of all the kids and babies.
Uh-oh. Up, up and away! Superman is on the loose.
Precious Eloise and Joey.
Little boys and their daddy in his fancy car -- a 1963 Cadillac.
Am hoping that my next post will be all about the 2011 Buddy Walk and Joey's All Stars!!! Stay tuned.
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Having had the privilege of serving in the Navy with Jen, I know she speaks from the heart! -- Cap'n Jim
ReplyDeleteCool, I am seeing that Captain Jim commented. Awesome! Thank you thank you thank you for serving our beautiful Country Jen (and Cap'n Jim). May you never ever forget how much we appreciate your service.
ReplyDeleteI WANT those cupcakes!!!!!! They look almost too pretty to eat but still, yum yumyum. Joey looks fabulous. Really. You cannot tell he just had OHS. Those bloomers on that little girl with the red bows on them--think Ellie could still get away with some?
Jen , we had such a great time with your family this weekend. I enjoyed Joey's little laugh at the parade - he has good taste when it comes to his humor! I showed Tripp the pictures and he shouted out "Tommy! Tripp!" They must have bonded during the wait for the parade start. Anyway, thank you for sharing the memories. We are so lucky to have been given the opportunity to live in the best country in the world. Meghan
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