The One That Started with a BANG!

June 30 - July 3 (4), 2017
So, this past weekend was the first in my countdown.  This was weekend #151. (Thanks for all the awesome response, BTW!  I am so glad to get to bring you along on this journey of weekends as we countdown.)  And, it was a L O N G weekend!  From Friday night until the last fireworks launched and exploded in the night sky late Tuesday evening, it was a weekend jam packed with family, friends, and memories.  I am still not sure what the best format for these little notes will be, so it might change as we learn together how best to document these times.  As for today, I am going to do it chronologically, by twin.  We will see how that looks and make changes as we grow.

Lara (age 15 years, 1 month; Stillwater, OK)

Friday night, Lara was still with her friends at Falls Creek (Church Camp) in the Arbuckle Mountains of south central Oklahoma.  It was their last night there, and I am sure she was making the most of it!  She was good to call me every day and tell me fun snippets and stories from her day.  I still remember MY days at Falls Creek as a youth, so I know she will cherish these days.

She arrived back in Stillwater mid-day on Saturday; she was excited about the trip she had been on and thoroughly exhausted by it as well.  She wanted food, her bed, and some peace and quiet.  I obliged her all of those, but only after telling her that I had arranged a babysitting job for her at 6:00 that evening.  My pittance for the short turn around was that I did all of her camp laundry – as well as the 2 weeks of laundry that had piled up before she left.  This is a big deal.  I haven’t done her laundry since 5^th grade!  While her nap was not quite long enough, she made it to her baby-sitting job, and her clients were very pleased with her work!

Sunday, was truly a day of rest for her.  No one asked anything of her, and she kept a lazy schedule.  Monday was more of the same.  With the Holiday coming up on Tuesday, everyone was keeping it low key and just preparing for the upcoming festivities! 

Tuesday – Fourth of July!  We were going over to some friends’ house that evening for food and fireworks.  We had a few items we were bringing with us, so we dedicated the morning to food prep.  Lara had decided earlier that she wanted to make celebratory cupcakes, so she set about that task.  She even let her 2 little brothers help along the way – with minimal bickering.  Later in the afternoon, we stopped by Uncle Brian’s gravesite, set off our traditional smoke bombs commemorate his favorite holiday, and reminding ourselves of how much we miss him.  Then, it was off to our get-together!

Celebrating our Freedom with a family that means so much to us was an excellent way to spend a beautiful evening.  It was HOT and STICKY when we got there in the late afternoon, but by the time the sun started setting and we went about blowing up a vast pile of pyrotechnics, it really was a nice night.  Lara spent time with wonderful friends and family, and we all had a fabulous time!  I will let these pictures speak for themselves, just a little….

Emma (age 15 years, 1 month; Orlando, OK)

Emma was not with me this weekend, so my knowledge of her weekend is a bit more ambiguous.  Nevertheless, I know she had a great Fourth of July!  Thanks to her Social Media, I got a glimpse into what she was doing from her Instagram posts and her Insta-story.  I am sure her Snap Chat was much more exciting, but I don’t Snap.  I asked her what her favorite thing was from this weekend and she told me it was watching fireworks from her house.  While probably not “fun,” I also know she had some sort of mishap in her barn and may have broken some toes.  We will have to see how that pans out.  I hope that this accident will not turn out to be the most memorable part of her summer! Looks like from the photos she had a good time with her friends and stored up some memories!

Next weekend both girls should be in the same place.  I can’t wait to see what memories we will build moving forward!