Wednesday, July 4, 2018

4th of July

Happy 4th! It's my favorite holiday of the year: warm weather, laid-back family time, lots of great food, and no gifts. Ha!


This year, Grandma and Grandpa were in town. We hadn't seen them since before their latest world cruise, so it had been a while. To make up for it, they bought a condo just a few minutes away, so they can move here and see us all the time! They probably won't move for another year or so, but it's official now, and we can't wait to have them as neighbors.

We also had Uncle Brien down for the holiday. Grandpa's birthday was yesterday, and since Brien's birthday is at the end of July, we decided to celebrate both. Happy birthday, boys!


Aside from condo shopping, playing baseball in the backyard, reading books and playing games, Grandma and Grandpa also took Little Man and Sweet Pea out for birthday gifts.  



Sweet Pea has been patiently waiting over a year to get her very first American Girl doll. After telling us all for weeks that she would pick Maryellen, Sweet Pea came home with ... 


... Kit! And then laughingly told us that she'd been tricking us the whole time. What a stinker! 

Little Man led Grandpa straight to the Lego store and picked out two Star Wars microfighters, came home, and immediately put them both together in record time. Grandpa was impressed.


4th of July wouldn't be complete without the annual Morrison kids' hot dog eating contest. Little Man redeemed himself this year by winning with a total of 3.5 hot dogs. Impressive! Sweet Pea was close on his heels with 3 hot dogs eaten. Not to be outdone, Amber ran off with a freshly grilled filet mignon when MJ had his back turned. 


Before bedtime, we got out the sparklers. The Morrison kids have never been unanimous fans of sparklers, and this year was no different. Little Man was the only one who would hold one, although the girls enjoyed watching them from a healthy distance. 




Independence Day has a new meaning for us this year ... freedom from unhealthy stress and a crushing workload. I'm so happy to announce that MJ has accepted a new job! He has made lifelong friends at his firm over the last 10 years, and gained an incredible amount of legal experience, but it was time for a change that will make a huge difference in his health, happiness, and time spent with our family. His last day of work at the firm was Monday, and he'll start his new position (working in-house at a large bank) in mid-July. We will be loving every minute of his time off!

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