4th of July WEEK!

We decided to make a week long celebration of the 4th of July by going to Winnebago, IL and hanging out with Justin's fam.
The nine and a half hour drive was LONG, but exciting because our little Toyota Corolla had a huge milestone on the way there.... the 100,000 mile mark! Although she is now over the hill, she is still holding strong for us!

Some of the highlights from our week:
Jackson sitting in a big boy chair! We got the high chair out the first day and he wanted nothing to do with it. He is getting so big and independent.Rocking out to Guitar Hero and Rockband. Practicing optometry skills to anyone who would let him.Visiting with these two lovely ladies: Grandma Johnson and Aunt Mary.Learning a new hobby and having a craft day with Donna and some ladies in the Branch. These are made out of bricks and I am now addicted to the idea of making them! :)Playing with Jackson's new best friend: Holly the dog. He was so cute with her and I LOVED the way he would say "Holly, Holly, Holly. Mere Holly. Woof Woof." Spending as much time as possible OUTSIDE! Doing ward work.Going to Jackson's favorite place in the world: the Park! Justin's parents have a park within short walking distance and Jackson would go as often as he could convince someone to walk over with him.And of course... getting as much attention as possible from his BAPA (grandpa) and MAMA (grandma).

Reading booksTickling warsPlaying with toys

Horsey rides
We ALL had a great week!
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Justin had not been back to his home town for the 4th of July in eight years! The Johnsons have always claimed that Winnebago is the place to be for this holiday and we have been wanting to go for a couple of years. We finally made it and it sure was a good celebration.
Unfortunately the Johnsons can't control the weather, and we woke up to rain! That didn't stop Justin and Bill from getting up bright and early and running in the 5K. This was Bill's first one and both Justin and his Dad placed 3rd in their individual divisions. Great job boys! We headed over and got our seats for the parade. This is at the beginning of the parade....This is us by the middle of the parade, huddled under umbrellas because it started coming down hard! Of course the rain didn't stop the parade and Jackson loved eating the candy that was tossed to him, pointing out the tractors and trucks, and waving to all the people going by.He even saw Bapa in the parade! After the parade we walked over to the carnival. (Yes, in the rain!) Check out Jeff... he is acting like a dork because he thought his masculinity was being questioned after using my girly umbrella.The tradition is to eat all the carnival food for lunch. Good thing they had a big tent to sit under. The food was delish! Pizza...Nachos.... corn dogs... pork chop sandwiches...and of course sweet corn!!The rain didn't stop Jackson from running around all the carnival games. He was still a little too small to go on the blow up toys, but he had fun with this little duck game. He even won a prize!That night it finally cleared up and it was beautiful! The Johnson's had a big bbq and party with friends and people from the branch. Justin and Jeff got a game of bball going on before the fireworks. Justin beat Jeff! :)And of course the firework show! Not too shabby for a small little town, and the best part was that they are lit off basically in the Johnson's backyard. We parked it on their back lawn and were up close and personal. Jackson loved them too!
Winnebago didn't disappoint. We had a fun 4th!