Let Freedom Ring!!!

Happy Independence Day, everyone!!!

I hope everyone had an amazing, fun-filled weekend. Ours felt jam-packed! (And because of that, so will this blog post - apologies ahead of time!)

On Saturday morning, we woke up and drove out to Ham's Orchards in Terrell, TX. I had this idealized, romantic notion of us wandering among the groves of peach trees, Dresden reaching up in wonderment to pluck the fresh, fuzzy fruit from the branches with his own hands.

Ummmmm, no.

We weren't allowed to go anywhere near the trees themselves; instead they just stood back there, taunting us, peaches hanging ripe for the taking. Basically, it was a glorified farmer's market. So I had to settle for buying a pre-picked bag instead. And Alex took a picture of some cows. Meh.

After that bitter disappointment and something of a waste of an hour's worth of gas surprise, we drove back through the town where the photographer bug that continuously bites my husband meant that we had to get out of the car to take pictures in front of some really awesome walls. Seriously y'all, walls are where it's at for photography. The grungier, the more paint-peeled, the more run-down the better! And Terrell did not disappoint. I tease, but really, we owe a Terrell wall for the awesome pictures of Dresden in our new 4th of July header. I had to pull out a new trick, the "Daddy has a bug on his head!" trick, to get Dresden to smile. You are welcome!

After I was sure that if one more picture was taken it would trigger heat stroke, we got back in the car and decided to check out the Galleria Mall in Dallas (logical next step, right? Peach orchard -----> fancy mall. We like to be a bit non-sequitor over here!), because Alex had never been, and I hadn't been since I was about 16. I remember how grand that place used to seem to me. While it does boast fancy stores, it still felt more just like a mall to me this time. We did get to eat at a place we miss like crazy-time in Denver, the Grand Lux Cafe, so it was pretty exciting to discover we don't have to go all the way to Colorado to eat there again!

We came home for a bit, and then decided to leave again because Dresden had a LOT of extra energy still to burn (do NOT ask me how, the kid barely napped in the car). So we went to Castle Park on Southlake Boulevard and then had some Gluten-Free pizza at Aleda's - yum!

Yesterday we just hung out at home and went to the Keller Pointe pool in the afternoon. It really seems like swimming is the answer for everything right now. Especially since that's what we did again this morning, going back to the wonderful splash park in Colleyville!

Mr. Cool in his shades

Taking a break with Mama

He decided it was time for a drink!

After another failed attempt at a nap once we got home (during which I told him "Dresden, I am losing my patience" and he told me "Be patient, Mama!" HA!), we decided to be brave and took the little man to see his second theatre movie - Cars 2! About an hour in he was saying "Go out? Go out?" but we managed to keep him in his seat for the whole two hours! It wasn't nearly as good as the first one; in fact it really seemed completely unrelated to the first one, and it was kind of violent, as violent as car-death can be, that is. After the movie, we stopped on Mainstreet in Grapevine to snap some pictures of the little man in his 4th of July outfit.

This is the "I'm deciding whether I want to cooperate for pictures or not" face

Seeing double...

Sweet boy. New trick #2: tell your son that if he stands against the tile wall he will become invisible. When he stands against said wall, pretend you cannot see him, thus creating novelty, intrigue and mischief around the wall. A 2-year-old boy will undoubtedly smile for novelty, intrigue and mischief! See?

Taking a stroll...

Taking a rest in the shade. 107 degrees today per the car thermometer!

Another smile. You should have seen some of the pictures of Dresden looking at me like I am crazy, with a face that says, "Uh, Mom, I'm RIGHT here! What's wrong with you?!" So funny.

There's one of the "you're nuts!" faces...

"Hey I'm a model, you know what I mean, and I shake my little tush on the catwalk!"

Sorry if this was a terribly boring post; I just wanted to remember things for myself more than anything! Needless to say, I am completely exhausted, and as I posted on Facebook, fireworks, as much as I love them, were just not in the cards for us tonight. Dresden is being SO resistant to sleep lately and despite the lack of nap, he was still awake until 9:30 tonight, and I found myself just drained. Oh well, there's always next year, or the year after that, right?

Fireworks or no, ultimately there is no forgetting what this day is truly all about, and I feel so thankful to all our troops who fight and sacrifice to keep us free, and to keep America the amazing country that it is.

Love,

Cassie