Twins and the Freedom to Sing

On July 1st my Brother, Daniel, welcomed his twins, Jack and Jill (names changed for this blog). They weren't due until the 17th but sweet little Jill was hogging all the nutrients and was growing faster than her twin, Jack, so they decided to take them early via C-section.

As you can see below, Jill did kind of take a little bit more than Jack while in the womb (she's on the right, in case you are wondering...) but, I have a feeling, Jack will catch up.

I'm cheating a little on these two pictures because they were taken when they were a week old but they are just so cute, and I am a proud aunt. Jill kinda makes me a giggle anyway, look at that little face! And then there's Jack, just so content. I wish so bad I was there to see them in person.
(And I am waiting for more pictures... hint... hint...)

Now to the 4th of July!

Those pictures I took from the post before this one, well, those were taken on the fourth. Marc was taking pictures of me taking photos of the kids. This one made me smile.

Marc wanted so badly to get a good shot of the sweet moment on his phone but the moment had just passed. I love, though, that he got the "real" them too. I also really love that he got Brother's celebratory July 4th outfit! He just finds every excuse to wear his Christmas socks! Tee hee!

Ya, I think Sister was trying to cooperate here but the 13-year-old was coming out in full force here...

 

It was 9:00 by the time we finally got done with socializing and eating so our fireworks and singing got started a little later than we had hoped for the kids but it was still a lot of fun. The kids loved it and I was having a great time in between wrangling kids trying to capture a few moments on camera!

Uncle Jeremy was the lighter-upper of fireworks and let me tell you, he had the line up under complete control.
You can tell by the look on JJ's face, he meant business (wink).

Marc's friend, Eric and his family came to join us for the party this year. Such sweet kids. They were a joy to have around!

This was Melly's first sparkler all on her own! She was so proud!

Juju, I've decided, was the winner of the evening for best 4th of July outfit!

I just like this picture of Baby, because I just do.

It was so much fun singing with my mom and sister, Kirsten, while the kids did sparklers. I love singing. And there is just something about singing outside when there are fireworks and neighbors outside and about. It was so much fun. It felt so American! So free! So, oh, heck! I am just so thankful to live where I live and have the blessings and talents I have!

See, Jeremy had quite a line-up system.

Melly's a pro now!

Kirsten Made some really cool cupcakes and there were only a few left and I guess Baby decided she didn't want to miss out on the last few so she grabbed what she could and took them to Kirsten to share and keep them safe.

I think Sister ended up with one of them...

I wish I would have gotten one of the three of us singing...

The fire master and my sidewalk art behind him.

If this photo could show the happiness Brother truly radiates it wouldn't just be the sparkler that was lighting the night...

And this is how my dad enjoys the fireworks... he says he has really great peripheral vision...

 

We finally got to the large fireworks and at that point I was just trying to keep little ones out of danger's way and enjoying them with my own eyes instead of behind the camera. Boy, it was an amazing fireworks show this year! Not because of the fireworks we bought this year, but, because of the neighborhood around us! Everyone went to town on the arial fireworks this year and we had a 360 degree surround of overhead fireworks while our ground fireworks were going. It was amazing! It was really neat to watch.

I have to admit too, that I did get very patriotic in my heart after my DC trip this year and some of the stories circulating and enjoying the freedom of singing out loud in my own front yard. I really am blessed to live in such a wonderful country. I know it's not perfect. But it is America!

God bless it!