This 4th of July, Grandpa Gary and Grandma Laurie invited my parents, Andrei, Ava and I for a wonderful family get together. The day started over at their new house with a delicious brunch that Grandma Laurie prepared. We hung out there for a bit and even got to visit with Great Grandma June for awhile! Later that evening we were invited to Grandma Laurie's sister's new home for a party. This was our first time there, and we were told her home had one of the best views overlooking the Illinois River and the downtown area where the big fireworks show would be launched. When we got there, we couldn't believe what a view! From inside and outside the home! It was just beautiful! The party was so much fun! Grandma Laurie's brother-in-law Tom and band played all through the evening to Ava's delight! At 9:30pm the big fireworks show kicked off. Unfortunately, I had my camera set on the wrong view so none of the night pictures turned out right. No surprise here! After the fireworks show Ava was so tired we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel and SLEEP. Ava was so exhausted she didn't make a peep all night and woke up at almost 8am! The next morning, we decided to make one last stop to visit some very special people. Great Grandpa Wes and Great Grandma Pauline! They had never met Ava up until now! Shame on us! We hadn't seem them ourselves since Kyle and
Shana's wedding in 1999! They were so happy to hear from us and to see our Ava! They are truly wonderful people, and even though they are technically stepgreatgrandparents, they are definitely family to Ava and us! We promised them from now on we would stay in touch more, and even invited them over to visit us here next time they are in the area (one of their daughter's lives her).
Well, without further ado, here are LOTS of pictures from this visit.
Ava in full 4th of July gear on Grandpa Gary and Grandma Laurie's new deck with nonna (and nonno-blowing his nose-hehe)
Her own personal salute to the flag
Great Grandma June couldn't take her eyes off of Ava
The Ladies
Mommy and Me
The Whole Family in Melanie's Backyard
Ava dancing to the band music. She stole the show!
The Band
More Dancing
This is a horribly blurry picture, but she suddenly loves to wear mommy's sunglasses--not her own--so I had to add this one in
It was HOT and Humid and Ava was thirsty!!
I don't normally take good pictures (as you all can see), but I am pretty proud of these next two. Sunset view from Melanie's Backyard
Our Little Family
At Great Grandparents Drews the next day (thank god my mom never looks at this blog-she's a little foreigner and doesn't know the first thing about computers--otherwise she would kill me for putting this picture in). Sorry mom! But Ava sure does look cute!!
Grandpa Gary and Grandma Laurie, thanks for inviting us, especially my parents. We all had such a wonderful time! Looking forward to seeing more pictures soon!
Her own personal salute to the flag
Great Grandma June couldn't take her eyes off of Ava
The Ladies
Mommy and Me
The Whole Family in Melanie's Backyard
Ava dancing to the band music. She stole the show!
The Band
More Dancing
This is a horribly blurry picture, but she suddenly loves to wear mommy's sunglasses--not her own--so I had to add this one in
It was HOT and Humid and Ava was thirsty!!
I don't normally take good pictures (as you all can see), but I am pretty proud of these next two. Sunset view from Melanie's Backyard
Our Little Family
At Great Grandparents Drews the next day (thank god my mom never looks at this blog-she's a little foreigner and doesn't know the first thing about computers--otherwise she would kill me for putting this picture in). Sorry mom! But Ava sure does look cute!!
6 comments:
Hey, Maria! Glad you guys had a great 4th of July! What a nice patio/back yard for a party! I am so jealous you guys were able to see the fireworks. Cameron and Ava wore us out so much that we decided to leave around 8pm so we didn't see any. Plus, you know we can't be out anywher past 8pm with my Ava.
Ava Rose looks like a little model in her outfits. I love seeing what she has on everytime you blog!
Your sunset pictures are amazing! Do you have a DSLR camera? If you don't then I think you're ready for one!
Looks like a wonderful time! It was great to see pictures of Grandma June, Wes and Pauline as well. Everyone looks great. Thanks for posting them.
What fun pics! Looks like you had a wonderful time!! Ava looked adorable, as always!! Gorgeous sunset!
Janice, I don't even have a clue as to what DSLR is. So no, I am probably not ready for it. All I did to take the sunset picture was to literally select "sunset" in the menu section. There, now you know the secret to all my great photos! ;-)
NOT!
You're too funny!
Post a Comment