The Pilgrims: 4th of July Weekend

We hope that you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend - celebrating the freedom and independence that Americans are blessed to have! We enjoyed being back in the States to celebrate the holiday with our fellow Americans instead of wishing we could soak up the sun and see the fireworks while living in London like we did the last 2 years!

The weekend started on Friday for us... my great friend from college, Teri Schneider was in town and we enjoyed visiting and having breakfast together at Starbucks! Teri gave Valerie her first pair of sunglasses! Isn't that cute?!

We strolled around outside for a while and Valerie napped in the new sling I bought from my friend (check out more baby carriers at her website - Regarding Peanut).

Micah had the day off on Friday, so while Val & I were visiting with Teri, he went and played a round of golf with a friend! Then we enjoyed the rest of the day just hanging out together.

On Saturday, we had quite the adventure! We went to Discovery Park in Seattle with our friends the Christensens. After a couple of hours of hiking (all the way down to the water and along the beach), we had a picnic.

It was a beautiful day - perfect for being outside together!

Our first FULL family photo!

After our time at the park, we went out to Ralph & Teree's house at Samammish Lake.
Valerie got to cuddle with Teree, and enjoy time with daddy on the deck!

We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon, followed by a gorgeous sunset! There were fireworks being set off all around the lake, though Valerie slept through most of them. It was a full day and she was exhausted by the end of it!

We had such a blast at the lake on Saturday that we went back after church on Sunday! This time, Valerie got to go "swimming" for the first time! We kept her onesie on for sun protection (poor girl doesn't yet have a bathing suit!) and she really seemed to enjoy it! Don't let that slightly sour face fool you - she was smiling too, and never once fussed about being in the water!