The 4th

Sorry this post is so long!Mark got a great shot of one of the fireworks!

Ella getting into wrestling w/ the boys.

Two cutie brothers!

Dad Bishop, what a guy!

One of my favorite shots of the day.

Cooper going crazy w/ his jumps, dives and flips.

This picture of John in the water looks so refreshing to me.

Uncle Reed playing motor boat w/ Seth.

Seth's first time doing sparklers.

Mark and the kids lighting off a firework.

We had a great holiday weekend. It was nice to have Mark home for an extra day, we always enjoy that. We watched a really great firework program at the God and Country rally that they have each year in Nampa. All of the kids loved the show, but Seth especially was fun to watch. He had never seen big fireworks like that, and all he could say was, "WOW!" A little while into the program he started falling over each time the fireworks would make a "boom" (like it was shooting him down) and then he'd get up and do it over again when he would hear the next loud boom. When it was all over he said, "Do it again!" Watching the show w/ Mom and Dad Bishop made it even more fun for us.

The evening of the 4th we went to Mom Bishop's brother's house for a bbq and swimming. It was a small group, but fun. The kids really loved the pool. Seth and Ella are getting braver all the time in the water. John and Cooper could hardly wait until we ate to get in, they both "accidentally" fell in (in their clothes) before they were supposed to. They also didn't want to get out when it came time to go home. It was a fun way to spend the holiday, and we're glad they had us over.

When we got home from swimming we let the kids do some small fireworks (sparklers, snakes, ground flowers, those popping things you throw and the snapping things you pull.) They all had a great time. Again, it was Seth's first time holding a sparkler, so he especially thought it was pretty neat. Fireworks are all he's talked about since.

On Saturday we were able to go to a really fun park nearby and have a picnic. My mom met us there. It's always good to see Grandma Donna. She had pop and candy for the kids. We're really glad she was able to meet us and we could spend some time together.

Yesterday was a peaceful Sunday. I had to teach in Relief Society, something I only have to do every 3 months or so. I am SO glad to have it done for a while. I get really nervous teaching. I'm the enrichment counselor, and we just had our Super Saturday and I just finished putting together a marriage night for husbands and wives where we had a speaker from the BSU Institute. It feels good to have those 3 projects behind me. Besides conducting (which also makes me extremely nervous) and having a dessert night for sisters who have July and August b-day's here at our house, it's pretty much stress free until the baby comes, hopefully. It is fun to be involved and to get to know the sisters and to help out.

John left this morning for scout camp. It's his first year going and to say he was excited is an understatement! I felt kind of sad for some reason. He's my helper around the house and w/ the other kids. He's also never been away for 6 days before, he doesn't come home until Saturday. It really didn't help that Mark kept talking about bears in Yellowstone, which is where his troop is going. Mark leaves on Wednesday for a few days to go up too. I need to hope and pray for some extra strength and energy. I haven't felt like doing much lately. At all of the above mentioned activities, I was sitting on a chair watching. It's okay though, just goes w/ the territory of being towards the end of your pregnancy in the hot summer. Even more than feeling uncomfortable, I'm feeling grateful and excited for what's to come.