Happy 4th of July Weekend

Our weekend was fun but quite the blur! Friday afternoon I took off from work a little early and Maddox, Justin, Bear and I headed to Iowa for some rest and relaxation. Our visit started with a night at the "clubhouse" and a dance in Armstrong. Basically it was a great excuse to go out and have some fun! Some good friends of ours watched Maddox for the night and JR, JB, my parents, and I headed up to Armstrong for some 4th of July fun of our own. I think we all had a great time and JB got to meet some of our friends from way back which was fun!

Saturday found us up at Fox Lake where we did a little boating, swimming, and to soak up some rays. Justin and JB headed up early with Tommy and got everything ready to go. The rest of us headed up in the early afternoon to join. Maddox had his first experience in the lake and he did rather well in the water!

April and I did have some interesting adventures on the jet ski..... We took off on a ride around the lake and all was well..... Unfortunately we lost our balance and into the water we went. After 10-15 minutes of treading water and trying to both get on to the jet ski we were unable to get things worked out so we had to be rescued (the gale force winds and crazy weeds didn't help matters either!) Thank you again Tommy (and Justin) for coming to our rescue! BUT it took you long enough!!! (:

Sunday we got up bright and early and took Maddox to be part of the annual "Cute Baby Contest" where he received the honor of "Mr. Cool Dude". Of course he wouldn't "perform" and the judges didn't see any smiles or emotion but that's ok.

As per tradition, we headed to the parade where Maddox was very enthralled with the big machinery. I am not sure about the sirens but there weren't really any major freak outs! We went to to the park after the parade and ran in to a few friends from the past. That is always my favorite part of the holiday weekend.

That afternoon we braved the crowds (and the weather) and headed over to Okoboji for some more fun in the "sun". Maddox had a little too much fun and found it to be a perfect time to take a nap!

Finally it was time for my favorite part of the 4th. Our group split up, loaded two boats and scoped out our spot for the fireworks later that night. I really love hanging out in the boat and my highlight is always watching the fireworks sparkle off of the water around us.

Maddox had never been on a boat for an actual ride so I was excited to see what he would do when we took off. He settled into my lap really easily and really never was bothered by the fact he had to wear a life jacket. As the night went on (and of course we were stopped) he was brave enough to stand up and jump around.

Favorite shot of the night.

First try at a family picture 

Best shot, Maddox's face kills me!

The 4 amigos

Monday the 3 of us hung out at my Mom and Dad's for a little bit and I gave Maddox his first ride on a 4-wheeler. And he loved it!

Don't worry, I didn't go too fast!
I can't believe the 4th has already come and gone. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend!!!