the third of july is the new fourth of july

so it seems that these days, most 4th of july festivities take place on the 3rd of july. we were invited to several places on the 3rd and had big decisions to make. some people were upset to find out that our clan would not be attending their 3rd of july bash. and i apologize to you all. i know we tend to make parties just a little bit better. maybe next year.
this year, dave decided to go to jason's brother's birthday party as it really is a once in a lifetime event. i wasn't there with my camera so there are no pictures. however, i believe that camera's wouldn't have even been allowed at this top secret event. from what i hear, jason and kevin have possibly been banned for life from steak and ale. and that would be a shame seeing as though they go there at least once a week.
i decided instead of sitting around by myself that i would be daring and take both boys along with a diaper bag filled with crap, blankets, a chair, a stroller and i swear it felt like a thousand other things, to my friend melissa's house in sylvan lake. before we walked to the lake to see the fireworks display we hung out at her place and had some dinner. as soon as hayden was let out in the backyard, he started running. and never stopped. he met melissa's cousins, 6 year old andrew and 4 1/2 year old anthony. for awhile he just called them "hey boys" while at the house, hayden managed to wear out a dog, a 6 year old and a 4 1/2 year old. and he still wanted someone to chase him. despite being quite a bossy playmate, it seems as though andrew and anthony really took to hayden. hayden would stand next to the shed and make them stand on the grass while he crossed his arms and told them "you are in big trouble." he would then run and have them tackle him and then try to get back to the shed first. even if he didn't, he somehow managed to make sure he was by the shed and they were on the grass being yelled at. i have no idea how he does it. even older kids do what he tells them to. one day, prehaps, we'll run into one that pushes him down. we'll see.
we took a walk down to the lake after i finally figured out how in the world to put the baby bjorn on because my 4 1/2 year old still needs to sit in a stroller. i had to warn hayden only to play in the sand and not to go near the water. he looked down at it longingly and would yell back to me "can i just put my feet it?" "how about i just touch it?" but he never did go in. shortly before the fireworks started i somehow got him to come and sit with us. he sat on the bench right in front of me and didn't really ever get up. which was a total surprise. he and the boys yelled in amazement at each and every firework that lit up. and the whole time, anthony and hayden would put their arms around each other and chant a little chant about being best buds. it was really sweet.
so here are some pictures from the even that i can share with you:

hayden pointing out the sky to anthony:
andrew, hayden and anthony:
best buds:
the one time i actually got him to turn around and look at me:
ooooo:
melissa and jennie:
again, this is what talan did. this kid needs to learn some new tricks:

my things

on myspace i refer to the boys as thing 1 and thing 2. while in florida, grandma was able to purchase these very fitting outfits for them. even though she hates that i call them that. others find it quite endearing though.

you have no idea how many pictures i had to take to get a good one like this. thank goodness for digital cameras!:
yup. he really is thing 2, mom:
thing 1:
now, that's much more like the thing 1 we all know:
thing 2:
and again with thing 2. this kid is the greatest: