The 4th of July

I am not sure my 4th of July could have been much better. It started with an early morning trail run, I picked the kids up from Buck (he had to work in the morning), and then we headed to Ennis Lake.  Our friends, Nick and Letty, invited us down for the day. It really couldn't have been a better Montana day - not too hot, but just hot enough to be at the lake.  And, of course, the kids LOVED IT, which makes it easy on us. 

While we enjoyed the sun, the friends, and the views, Hyat and Embrie were busy playing on the dock, catching "gups" on in the lake and floating on their "boat"... We also took a boat ride with our friend Lee (and a few others), so Buck could hit the rope swing.  The kids and I enjoyed the rope swingers and the boat ride. I opted out of the rope swing - maybe next summer, but right now I am still a little protective of my knees!  

It was also while we were at the rope swing that we realized one of our children was bleeding. Obviously no one was gushing blood, but there was enough that we were looking for the source. And then I saw what I thought was a gash in Embrie's leg! Just before panic set in that she was really hurt, I realized that the dark spot was not a gash, but a LEACH!  I tried to pull it off, but couldn't quite the stomach it, so Buck had to.  Embrie started asking what was on her leg... She sported a band-aid for the next 2 days (band-aids are a big deal in her world right now and really they do make everything better) and if asked would proudly tell you she had a leach - only sometimes she couldn't remember what it was called and the conversation would go like this. 

Person 1: You have a band-aid, what happened to your leg?

Embrie: Mom, what was that thing on my leg sucking my blood?

Me: A leach.

Embrie: I had a leach sucking my blood, but I'm okay. 

At this point, depending how well the person knew us or if it was stranger in the grocery store, they would either just laugh or get a look that seemed to convey they might call protective services. 

The kids on their boat.  It was tied off and Hyat and Embrie loved
floating out and towing themselves back in!

Getting close to the dock.  There is plenty of flotation devices on board!

LOVE these two!

Embrie was enjoying the evening and the boat rides with her brother!

Buck found a rod on the dock and couldn't pass up taking a few casts.
Hyat was hopeful for a fish!

Embrie joining the boys on the dock. 

Looking for guppies....

Hyat spent a lot of time looking for guppies.  He caught a lot too!

Embrie enjoying the lake. Then she fell down, got cold and had
a meltdown. That is when we knew we needed to head for home. 

Time to head for home....

It was a beautiful day with family and friends.  As we drove back into Bozeman, we were amazed at the number of fireworks lighting up the sky.  We managed to pull into our drive, tuck our already sleeping kiddos into bed, and watch Bozeman's fireworks display before heading to bed ourselves!