Fourth of July weekend

We had a fun filled weekend, with lots of guests here.

Frank's parents were visiting all week

and our niece, Emily, came down from Idaho on a whim on Friday.

Thursday night we were out running some errands and Amber mentioned that she and her siblings were meeting at the "Food Truck Roundup" in Provo.

We were nearby so we went there for dinner.

It really isn't the perfect place to take your 80-something-year-old parents...

but they were good sports about it.

We might have to go back and do it again sometime!

Friday my bestest friend Polly came by with her kids just to visit me.

She hasn't changed a bit and her beauty makes me want to smack her...

but lucky for her she is super nice and funny as well as beautiful, so we get to stay friends.

her kids are also adorable.

I've been spending lots of time everyday with Isabelle.

Just hanging out.

swinging, going for walks, emptying the dishwasher (she is really go at sorting the silverware),

and eating food her mom probably wouldn't give her.

(Grandma's prerogative, right?)

Frank and I had fun swinging with both Isabelle and Kaylee.

My niece Emily got a ride to our house for the holiday weekend which was awesome!

She had to sleep on the couch but she didn't seem to mind.

I'm hoping she (and her sister Hannah) come back soon!

On the fourth, we went to a family barbecue in Provo.

I had no idea we had so many Hill relatives living around here!

Here you can see Emily, Grandma Janice, Grandaddy Frank and Carter at the barbecue.

Isabelle and Kaylee sort of enjoyed it.  

Kaylee had a bad rash and didn't seem to feel well.

But we made sure to get some pictures of them in their Fourth of July outfits.

I saw this "patriotic potato salad" on Facebook and decided to make it for the family bbq.

It turned out pretty darn good.

(I did use store-bought potato salad because it was a last minute decision to make this)

And since we weren't busy enough with several house guests and visitors and barbecues to attend,

we also started a construction project in the house!

They came on the 3rd and tore out the wall where the downstairs laundry is...

we are turning it around to face into the apartment so that the future renters don't have to come into our house to do their laundry.

It wasn't a big deal when the renters were our kids but we figure in the future we will want the apartment to be totally separate.

Here is Isabelle just being cute as we played in the backyard one day...

She's recently decided that slides are fun.

She liked them before but wanted someone to hold her (on big ones) or hold her hand (on little ones).

Now she just goes down all by herself.

Everyday she seems older to me.

Amber and I regularly comment on it.

She's a kid now...not a toddler.

It's amazing and wonderful and sad all at once.

On the night of the fourth we opted to stay local rather than brave the traffic to go to a real show.

We walked to a local park and watched all of the neighbors who were shooting off all kinds of amazing fireworks.

It was way better than we expected.

Sunday, before his parents left, Frank made a cherry pie.

His mom couldn't leave without trying some of his famous cherry pie.

It was, as usual, delicious.

I forgot to get a picture of the finished pie.

oops.

Then our guests all left and we were alone again.

But it was a super fun week and weekend.

We like that we get more visitors here in Utah than we did in Mass.

Frank figures that we are the "fun" house now since we have Amber, Branden, Ryan and Carter here...along with the grandkids.

Soon enough, Branden and Amber will move.  Ryan will want to move out (he says it will be so boring here once they leave), and Carter will graduate and leave.

Then we will be the "boring" or possibly "old folks" house.

That will be a sad day.