4th of July Fun

Oh my, did we squeeze a lot in yesterday!! It was a GREAT holiday. We started out by hiking in Spearfish Canyon with my Dad - it's such a beautiful place. Then we took the kids fishing over by the Wyoming border at our "secret" place (not such a secret anymore, as it turns out!) - Jack and Noah were catching fish faster than we could get them off the hooks! Just little baby fish that we throw back, but all the kids care about is catching something. The water is crystal clear, so you don't even need a bobber, you can just watch the fish bite. Then my Dad took the kids 4-wheeling around their neighborhood. Next was supper at the Spearfish Chophouse which is a fun place, and finally we headed off to Lead to watch the most unbelievable fireworks display I have ever seen. Incredible!! We officially have a new tradition. Lead shoots them off over an enormous open pit by the mine, so the echos from each boom were amazing. It sounded like one giant, continuous thunderstorm. We were perched right on the edge of the pit, directly across from where they were launched - what a view, it was just spectacular. After all the excitement, Jack and Noah were sound asleep within minutes of leaving.

Here are some photos of their activities:

Noah and Grandpa on our hike . . . .
Jack and one of his many fish . . . (you can almost see it - on the right)
and on the 4-wheeler . . .

The day before the 4th, we were at Albertson's and the kids spotted an item they HAD to get Daddy! They talked and talked and begged and begged and mom finally gave in, only because they wanted to give it Dad. Here's a picture of it:

Yep, a cheeseburger cake - for anyone that knows Mark, you can understand why the kids wanted to get it for him. :)

Is it awesome, or what?

And since Daddy had a treat, Mommy got a treat too! :) Just a different kind, and I had to post a picture of it because anyone who knows ME will understand why I totally fell in love with this bag. I think I have a near-addiction to purses and bags - but it's better than some other things, right?! :) Here it is:

Yes, those are pink and white fur balls. It's just the coolest thing, it's an overnight bag, and immediately Mark was like "do you mean you are actually going to travel with that thing??!" and after "the look" from me, he quickly followed with "It's great and I love you just the way you are!" Smart man.