Happy Birthday U.S.A.
you make me melt like a popsicle on the 4th of july. and that is seriously what we did, melt. it was hotter than hades outside, but in all good 4th of july traditions we braved the heat. ella spent a good majority of her time in the pool. she suckered kyle into pouring water over her head for a good 15 minutes and then she conned uncle gary into playing catch kicking.

ella rocked her ameri-kini hard core. she loved running around. splashing. giving molly entirely too much watch to drink (luckily molls kicked the water habit real fast). stole uncle gary's seat during dinner. mastered the 'cheese' pose. and apparently is the next toddler and tiara's contestant. see following picture below as evidence.

after i rested listened to dad snore for a good half hour, i got to work frosting my precious cupcake flag. the rest is history, just don't stare at the last white stripe too long and you won't notice that you know who, that shall be unnamed (kyle) ate one!

speaking of yummy goodness, check out these babies i whipped up, inspiration received from my nerdy blogging habits.

after deciding against crying about my cupcake flag (think of my crazy party detail planning perfection and be proud) we hit the road to bicki's as ella kept exclaiming on the ride over. hence 25 minutes later we arrived at nancy's. pool time + dessert time +  cousin time  = ♥

ella had the best time playing with annalisa, marta, and sabastian. they ran. ran. and ran in circles. gave hugs. tickled. ran. everywhere that they went, ella was sure to follow mimicking every move. it made me really wish i wasn't the only one havin' babies around here y'all!!! ella had a blast except when it came to......fireworks. dare i even mention the word? she hated them. wanted them to go away. clapped after the first few while at the same time saying, 'no more, go away, no more.' she actually wanted to go sit in the car oddly enough. random child. but i did manage to sneak a picture before she retreated to the house.

i had an epiphany after the fireworks. after exhaustion. my favorite part the 4th of july in one word. sparklers. i love em. i love em. i love em.

these pictures are courtesy of the good ol k-y-l-e and myself. and have no fear. i rationed away some for when you come back  in december, so you can share in the self proclaimed 'best part of the 4th of july' with me.

♥