4th of July Fun!

I am so grateful we've taken on the fun family tradition of the 4th of July kids' fishing tournament that I did as a kid, because I love being able to share it with Connor (and eventually Noah).

This was Connor's 2nd year participating & the pressure is always on Papa!  Three hours of fishing in the summer heat while trying to entertain your kids is a challenge, but with snacks, pretend play with lego minifigures, and moving around to different fishing spots helped keep the kids content!

Connor's first year in the tournament landed him a fishing pole, bait bucket, and trophy for catching the most unique fish (sting ray).

This year, Connor brought in 3 fish & won himself a tackle box, bait bucket, and free meal at Perkins. Yay!

Connor was thrilled to get some one on one time with his favorite Nana in the whole world before the fishing began.

My kids are beyond blessed to have these two as their Nana & Papa!

We attempt family photos whenever we get a chance.  To get both boys looking and smiling is such a task!!

After the cannon blast, the boys were off to catch something!

Meanwhile, we prayed the boys would catch something to keep C happy!

The boys relocated to another fishing spot & caught a grunt for their first fish!

Not much later, the boys reeled in fish #2!

We had to help Connor focus on holding his pole the whole time, as he was trying to multitask & scarf some Cheetos while he waited for the fish to bite!

Fish #3!

He's so cute & the chattiest little fisherman ever.

This little monster devoured some watermelon while we watched big bro fish.

This would have been fish #4, but the monster got away...

Another family photo attempt...

And another...

Peewee with all of his winnings!

After fishing fun, we landed ourselves in Nana & Papa's pool to cool off.

Nana & my boys :)

Then today, we celebrated the 4th of July at Aunt Debbie's house for a low key pool/BBQ day.  It was really nice, but I missed my Connor horribly.

This handsome little fella tried to keep me occupied.

Noah knew my heart was hurting, so granted us both a 3 hour afternoon nap!

Thinking of my sweet Grandma Beach today (as I do every year on this day).  I know she would just love to see my boys now.  This day will forever be her holiday.

Happy 4th of July!