The Ludlam Fam: Independence Day

We hope everyone had a great and safe holiday weekend! Our weekend started on Thursday, however, Michael had to go to the Stewart house to install new floors. Our previous tenant so graciously forgot to tell us there was a leak in the laundry room. That leak caused the carpets in the living room, master and guest rooms to be completely ruined. We had the carpets and the pad cleaned and sanitized multiple times and to no avail...our vacation fund was now a flooring fund. Boo hoo. Michael and Skip completed two rooms and have one more room to go. Thank God for Skip, as this is saving us quite a bit of money. Since all of this was going on and Emery goes to bed at 7, we decided that I would just take Ian to see the fireworks. This would be our first real display (other than Disney) of fireworks and he was very excited! We drove to Safety Harbor and met up with some friends around 5pm. The resort there had bounce houses and inflatables and music and food and ice cream and all sorts of things to throw money at. The only problem was the heat! It was a freakin' sauna outside! Miserably hot! After the kids enjoyed themselves on the inflatables, we went back to our neatly picked out spot on the hill and waited for the show. We ordered pizza from around the corner...first we got 2 larges. Eric went and got them, and in 2 seconds - they were gone! 5 kids and 3 adults anihilated the pies! So, we had to order two more and we were so thankful Eric kept making the trek to keep us all happy and satiated! As we waited for the show, the kids had a blast with the glow sticks, flags and the people watching...and did I mention the glow sticks? Oh my goodness, I am not sure if Ian is ever going to throw them away even though they have lost their glow. They make cool bracelets, ankle weights, tunnels for cars, hula hoops - you name it and he has thought of a use for them! Once the show started, I was trying so hard to capture some good photos, but I kept wanting to put the camera down and just enjoy it with Ian. He was such a good boy and we had a great time. I will say that once the finale hit, I have never moved so fast in my life. Literally, before the last boom even hit, people were scrambling, packing up their coolers, chairs, blankets, and reverse lights on! I was laughing hysterically, as I felt like I was in a time warp! It happened so fast and I was up and Ian was up and we were all up walking to our car in a matter of seconds. Way too much rushing, I'd say. The worst part of the night was soon to follow...we make it to our car in about 5 minutes, as we found a great spot when we arrived. We hop in, I am trying to strap Ian into the seat, he loses a "connector" for the glow stick and goes mad, I am trying to not be a hood ornament for the next car passing, sweating my hair off, all the while Ian is flipping out over this part to his glow bracelet. Holy cow, was he upset. So we get in the car, I calm him down, tell him we will get it later. I pull out onto Main street, where the streets are flooded with people, strollers, vendors and cars. Cars, cars and more cars. 47 minutes later I have made it 1 mile and to the open highway. 20 minutes in to this horrific stand still, Ian proceeds to put pressure on my seat and I can hear him bubbling with frustration and he lets out the biggest wail and says "I can't take it anymore!" "Why can't we just go?" He was so mad and I completely felt his frustration. It was maddening sitting still, not moving an inch for that period of time. I am just so thankful he didn't have to go potty in the midst of all of this! He ended up passing out, thank GOD, as it took us 1 hour and 23 minutes to get home. Absolutely crazy! We had a great 4th and next year, we will take Emery! Here are a few pictures from the day...

Emery, not wanting me to take her picture! Love this face!