We had a fun 4th of July in Rockford with the Reder clan. We spent most of the time either in the pool or shooting off fireworks with Grandpa! We also celebrated our cousin Ellie's 8th birthday, complete with a pinata and a homemade flag cake made out of cupcakes. Yum!
In the pool, Cassie worked on her swimming strokes with her daddy
and went in from the edge of the slide for the first time. She had fun swimming freely with the help of her water wings. Gavin liked lounging in the round yellow floatie and was happy to have an adult gently pull him around the pool as he chewed on pool toys. We had bright sunshine and hot 
temperatures, which made the water feel even better!Cassidy still has a love-hate relationship with fireworks. It's more hate than love, unfortunately. She doesn't like any of the loud noises, or the countdowns with all the anticipation, but she loves the pretty results. These photos show what she looked like most of the evening.
Gavin only stayed awake long enough to see sparklers, but he loved every minute! He was so upset that I wouldn't let him hold a sparkler by himself that he threw one of his tantrums and had to head to bed. Poor little guy! Maybe in a few years...
