...from the middle of nowhere...

Bed Time Snuggles

2011-03-02T09:00:00.001-08:00

I now have a much better understanding of the phrase "My cup runneth over".

My Little Snow Angels

2011-02-05T08:39:00.001-08:00

Katelyn's snow angel is obviously the one on the left. The one on the right is Stephens.

Had I known that he was participating and not just watching, I may have left the warm house and my cozy jammies and my yummy coffee to go get pictures.

Well maybe it is after all freezing outside ;-)

Oh how I love this girl!

2011-01-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

There are so many things I love about my almost 3 year old.

I love the unruly hair. It took her so long to get hair and now that she has it she doesn't want it in a ponytail or braids she wants it loose and crazy. Its a good reflection of her wild side.

I love her eyes. Oh how she speaks volumes with them. Happiness, sadness, craziness and love are all often seen there.

I love her imagination. We are often a family of pirates, doctors, royalty, adventurers, puppies, kittens etc

I love how shes a girly girl. From painted toe nails to her new fascination with chap stick to her love for playing dress up she is a girl through and through!

I love how she gets so excited and grateful about things. Even the little things like a glass of water excite a "thank you Mommy, thank you" and a hug from her.

And as pictured below I love how she asks to borrow my "Bobby" so she can feed ChaCha some mommy milk. Heck I even love that she named her baby doll ChaCha!

Is there anything not to love? I think not :-)

Thats my sneaky, stubborn Sarah

2011-01-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

I don't like thumb sucking. I understand that its a soothing reflex for babies and little kids and I am not against the use of pacifiers infact Katelyn at 2 and a half still has hers. But my therory is that at some point I can take the paci away but I obviously can't take her thumb away. So imagine my dismay when Sarah found her thumb and decided it worked just as well if not better then her paci. Thats when I found that my little Sarah is quite stubborn and very sneaky. At first she would just use her thumb when she didn't have her paci. We would take it out and put her paci in and move on no big deal. That is until she decided to start taking the paci out, throwing it and using her thumb instead. After a few frustrating battles that ended often times with both of us in tears she is now doing this...

15 months really? Wow!

2010-08-19T00:04:00.000-07:00

*Disclaimer: the following post is full of run on sentences and bad grammer. If I had the time and energy I would edit it some more but I don't. Consider yourself warned*

Wow has it been 15months? Really?!? I have no idea how to catch you up on all that has happened in the last year so I am gonna take the easy way out and not do it. I figure as I organize and scrapbook the pictures I will randomly post things that have happened and eventually catch up :-D

That being said I do want to tell you about little Miss Sarah Joy. My last post talked about how we were expecting another baby and on May 3rd at 12:05 Sarah Joy Burdett joined our family. Weighing in at 7lb 2oz and 20.5in long, she was the exact measurement of her big sister when she was born :) Her pregnancy was much easier on me the Katelyn's. For example I only lost 15lbs to morning sickness instead of 20lbs lol (I can joke about it now cause its over ;-). One thing that was much easier was labor it was a whole 4hours and 1 and a half pushes until we were holding her in our arms! Everything about her was absolutely "wonderfully and fearfully made". I did notice that she slept A LOT. Which of course she did she was a newborn but she also started sweating during nursing and falling asleep before she had finished. It wasn't until her two week appointment that we (I say we because I asked to listen too) heard the murmur. The nurse side of me rationalized that all infants are born with holes in their circulatory system and it takes a month before they are all closed (part of Gods awesome design). But the mom side of me started freaking out! I started going back and forth between God is in control to worst case scenario of my little two week old could need open heart surgery! From peace to panic in no time at all! We decided that the best course of action was to wait. Like I said her circulatory system would not make the complete switch from fetus to infant for another two weeks and she was gaining weight which was a very reassuring sign that she was not compromised. At her one month appointment the murmur was still loud and clear (and yes I listened to her heart every day during those two weeks) and even though she was still gaining weight we felt it best to go and have a consult with a pediatric cardiologist.

Our pediatrician is part of a large network called Cooks Children and so when a referral is done its kinda like a random draw on who you get unless you know to ask for someone by name. Never having a need for a pediatric cardiologist we went the "random" route and had an appointment the very next morning with Dr. Siu. At the appointment Sarah had an EKG done, which came out normal, and an Echocardiogram done which showed a 5mm hole in the septum that divides the ventricles (the lower chambers of her heart). This hole is allowing preoxygenated blood to flow back to her lungs instead of out to her body. In severe cases this causes the fluid to back up in the lungs and cause Congestive Heart Failure. "Luckily" Sarah's case was only moderate not sever and even better then that due to the placement of the hole being so high in the septum it was actually partially occluded by the valve when open so it was acting as a 3mm hole which is why she was presenting with only mild symptoms.

We couldn't have asked for a better Cardiologist then Dr. Siu. He is kind, patient, understanding, informative and really took his time with us making sure we knew what was going on, didn't have any questions and was comfortable with the treatment plan. He had made several comments during the appointment that made his faith evident but we were still a little surprised
when he asked to pray with us at the end of the appointment. Let me tell you there is no greater peace in a medical situation then to hear your doctor pray for God's wisdom. Dr. Sius prayer was not a generic "I pray this for all my patients" kind of prayer. It was genuine, heartfelt and it brought us to Jesus feet where we found peace. I had tried to pray several times a day during the two weeks that we were waiting but my mind would always start to wonder to all the things it could be, to all the treatments and possible surgeries that might be in our future. It wasn't until the three of us laid our hands on Sarah and prayed that I found the peace that comes with fully surrendering and trusting God. He is the one who created her and He is the one who can fully restore her health.

At the end of July we had a follow up appointment where we found the hole had gone down to 3mm. No surgeries, no medications. Praise the Lord! It was also at this appointment we discussed the possibility of traveling to California. We found out that Dr. Siu had spent 2 years at Loma Linda working with the head of Pediatric Cardiology. So it was with his blessing that we traveled to Riverside knowing that if we needed to we could call Dr. Siu and he would let Loma Linda know what was going on and to expect us.

Through out this whole situation we have struggled but more importantly we have seen God at work in all the circumstances. As as parents we want our children to be happy and healthy and we tend to think more of what we can do for them and help them then what God can do. We are so grateful that He is the ultimate healer and He can watch over our children and loves our children more then we ever could!

All right I think you are caught up with whats going on with Sarah. We have another appointment in May. If we still hear the murmur we will follow up in 6months. If we don't hear the murmur they will do another echo so they can say for certain that it is closed. We know God is in control no matter what we find at that appointment :)

Meeting big sister Katelyn for the first time.

One month old

Two months old

Three months old and starting to rock the chubby cheeks

Four months old

Five months old and a rolling machine!

Six months old and discovering the joys of food!

Seven months old and sporting the comb-over!

Eight months old and as happy as can be!

Katelyns Favorite New Book

2009-10-05T19:08:00.001-07:00

You may ask yourself what book could possibly enthrall Katelyn so much that we read it over and over and over again...

Little Princess

2009-10-05T18:46:00.001-07:00

In September we all flew to New Jersey for Stephens cousins wedding. I found the most adorable dress for Katelyn, she looked like a little princess. Unfortunately she didn't want her picture taken :( We got a few shots in but not the perfectly sweet smiling one that I wanted....

This was the best face shot that I got :( She was eating fruit so she was a little reasonable at this point...

I tried to get a few silhouette shots because hey she didn't have to be smiling for those right...
well every time I got a good angle she would see me out of the corner of her eye turn to the camera scrunch up her face and say "no", sigh oh the joys of toddlerhood.

The little diva waiting for her flight in the airport :)

Trip to California

2009-10-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

Back in August we took a road trip out to So Cal to see family and to help my Gram fix some things on the house. The time went by way to fast as usual and we didn't get all we wanted to done nor did we get to see everyone we wanted to see :( It was such an unusually fast trip I didn't even take as many pictures as I normally do but here are a few that I managed to take...

Between driving all the way from Texas (then back again) and then commuting each day from Riverside to La Palma (ah the good old 91, how I don't miss you!) we spent a good chunk of our time on the road. Needless to say Katelyn was pretty tired of her car seat by the end of the trip!

Katelyn has such a special bond with her Nana. They always pick right up where they left off the last time they saw each other, and could spend all day playing! Her Papa on the other hand, well lets just say she is playing hard to get. He is extremely patient and stubborn so in the end I know he will win ;-)

Katelyn got good snuggle time in with her Grammy while we are hard at work on the house. And Katelyn also meet her newest BFF her sock monkey that her Aunt Becca made her :-)

"Don't worry Mommy and Daddy I will drive us home."

Farewell to Summer

2009-10-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

We sure enjoyed summer this year! Between swimming at Grandma and Grandpas, staying at the beach house and visiting the lake with friends we had our fair share of water time and Katelyn loved every minute of it. As the cooler weather of fall settles upon us we realize we must bid farewell to summer, we hope to see you soon friend :)....

Katelyn playing in the water "one last time" with her Daddy

Katelyn's imitation of J Lo (gotta love soggy diapers ;-)

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here are my top four reasons why the 4th of July was so fabulous this year!

4) The Urbanovsky's (I know I totaly spelled that wrong, sorry!) rented the coolest jump house and slip-n-slide ever! The jump house was HUGE I couldn't believe it. It was "Cakes" first time in a jump house so I wasn't sure how she would like it but she quickly assured me that she loved it more then jumping on mommy and daddy's bed :)

3) We have truly been blessed with wonderful friends out here and it is always nice when we all get together. I just love the "big family" vibe that there is when everyone is enjoying each others company. 2) I wish my literary skills were adequate enough to portray just how hilarious Stephen and I found the firework "show". The fireworks themselves were awesome and once again Ricky and the boys really out did themselves. But what I found so hilarious were the sounds of laughter (some might even call it cackling) that came from the pitch black field before they lit the firework! I don't care how "grown up" a man might seem, give him an explosive and something to light it with and he instantly turns into a little boy!

1)Katelyn. I have heard it said before "Holidays are more fun with kids" and

now that we have Katelyn all I can say is how true that is! I love seeing things through her eyes and the joy she finds at trying new things just melts my heart!!

Happy 4th of July!

Thats Life...

2009-06-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

Gardening Momma

2009-06-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Just like her momma Katelyn likes to play in the dirt and plant pretty things! She is a little confused however as to what the shovel does. She likes to stick it in the dirt and pull it back out (like a million times) but when it comes to actually transferring the dirt she prefers to use her hands :) Apparently an hour is not long enough because she sure threw a fit when she had to go inside and clean up. She had such a good time "helping" that if left on her own she probably would have been out there all night. And just like everything else she does she fully committed herself to her task. So much so that I am still finding potting soil up her nose...

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

For the last 15 months whenever I had to work the weekend and Stephen would take care of Katelyn he always took the pink flowery diaper bag. Poor guy would get teased (mainly by me) but never complained! So this year for Fathers Day Katelyn and I got him a new messenger bag to double as a diaper bag on the weekend. It came fully stocked with a diapes and wipes container, sippy cup, pacifiers and a new Bible. Now he is styling and can carry everything, including Katelyn, all in one bag...

Weekend at Crystal Beach

2009-06-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Keeping up with my tradition of blogging things a month late here is our trip to Crystal Beach :) We were so blessed to be able to spend a weekend at this beautiful beach house with wonderful friends and 15 crazy teenagers! The house was amazing and because Crystal Beach was hit hard by hurricane Ike there wasn't much around which meant that the beach was empty. Below is the picture from the deck of the house looking out to the beach...
My fearless little girl has apparently met her match! She was so scared of walking on the deck she wouldn't get off the welcome mat (kinda nice cause I didn't have to worry about her falling down the stairs). She kept bending down to look through the slats at the ground below and would go back in the house whenever someone walked by her because it made the floor shake. By the end of the weekend she would careful walk on it if forced but here are some pics of her initially...

This trip was also Katelyn's first official trip to the beach. I say that because even though we have been to the beach in Cali we never went into the water. Katelyn may have been born in Fort Worth Texas but with the way she loved playing in the water she is defiantly a Southern California beach girl at heart!

My Average Week

2009-05-13T03:09:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by apoligizing for my silence in the bloging world. I feel so bad that I only post about once a month even though I check everyones blog weekly. With that said I was wondering where in the world all of my time goes so I sat down and figured it all out. The break down goes something like this...

60 hours chasing after Katelyn

38 hours of sleep

36 hours of work

25 hours doing house work while Katelyn naps, including but not limited to dishes, dusting, vacuming, moping, mowing the yard, taking care of the animals and laundry

there are a few odds and ends that I didn't add in such as time spent at church and so forth but thats pretty much my week in a nutshell. It doesn't look that busy now that I have written it all down but my point is that its enough to keep me from blogging and I am sorry :) and to show how sorry I am the following blogs are to catch you up on our life...

Easter Pics

2009-04-16T19:50:00.001-07:00

I have decided that Easter this year was the best! And its not just because of the friends and family that we had over to our house. Or the yummy lunch we had. Or watching Katelyn with her easter basket or the kids on the easter egg hunt. Its because He has risen!!

Our little country girl

2009-04-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

I LOVE SPRING!! I love the wild flowers that grow on the side of the road. I love watching the barren trees sprout new leaves and turn green. I love seeing all of the "spring babies" around our house. I love the weather change and being outside for the first time in months. I love the blue skies (btw there is no smog where we live, can you imagine?!?!) and the white puffy clouds. But the one thing I do not love about spring is the massive amounts of yard work that comes with it. After everything going dormant for winter I forget how much time we spend on mowing and such. Well spring is here and with it the good and the mowing. So about a month ago we pulled out the tractor, dusted it off and started it up. Katelyn wanted to be right in the middle of everything and drive the tractor for herself. She was so adorable so of course I had to take some pictures :)

Happy Birthday Katelyn!

2009-03-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today our little girl is a no longer a baby, she is a big one year old. Okay techincally she turned one on Monday but we didn't have the party until today so that gave me a whole extra week of denial :-). To celebrate we had lots of family and friends over for lunch and cupcakes. Below are some pictures from the party but first I need to brag about what our big girl is now doing...
-she waves hi and bye
-she actually says "hi" (in the most adorable high pitch falsetto voice)
-she blows kisses and has started to give close mouth kisses although the occassional "birdie" kiss slips in
-she can sign "eat", "more", "finished" and "please"
-she knows what sounds elephants, monkeys and dogs make and tries to mimic them (we are working on frog but every time you say ribbit she bursts into laughter)
-she says "tickle tickle tickle" while trying to get your toes
-she is very empathetic, laughing when someone laughs and crying when someone cries
-she is eating table foods (or at least grilled cheese)
-she has six teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom)
-she finally has enough hair to have bed head in the morning and after naps
-she loves to look at pictures in books and turn the pages
-she points at things and says "was that"
-she has learned the fun of watching others pick up things that she throws
-she is a walking machine
-she laughs or says "wow" when she falls down
-she says "baby" when she sees babies
-she has the most adorable way of asking you to hold her (she puts her whole arm, from elbows to pinkies, together
and then holds it out to you)

I think we could make this list go on forever but you get the basic idea. I can't begin to describe how wonderfully blessed we are to have this little girl in our life! She is such a joy to be around and we love her more than words can describe. So here is to Katelyn, Happy Birthday Sweetheart!Katelyn took forever to eat her cupcake! Mainly because instead of trying to lick the icing she spent like 20 minutes picking it off to eat itThe BeginningAbout 15-20 mins into it. Final result...not too bad (of course you can't see all the icing because she is so white but trust me its there!)A little dip in the sink before opening presents.

And her best present of all...
Kyle Wesley Neel born right before her party at 11:59

Recent Pictures...

2009-02-04T19:13:00.001-08:00

Oh My Goodness I Never Posted Christmas Pictures!!!

2009-01-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

Every December our church puts on a little Christmas concert. Well this year Katelyn was in it and as expected she stole the show!! In between songs Stephen read the Christmas story to her as part of the program. At first when they told me what they wanted to do I laughed out loud. "You want a 9 month old to sit still and pay attention through a 45min program!" But they had more faith in her then I did :) She did an excellent job, way better then anyone thought she would! Not only did she sit on Stephens lap the whole time but she sang and clapped right along with the choir. Yup we have a little performer on our hands. Anyways here she is all dressed and ready to go to church...One of her most favorite places in the whole world, her daddy's lap...Now for Christmas...Christmas morning was spent at my parents house for breakfast and presents. I worked the night before so I was tired and on top of that Stephen, Katelyn, Timothy and I were sick! So sick that Stephen talked about calling off Christmas *gasp*. But a few words and a couple of tears from me and Christmas went as planned ;-) I only had to compromise by taking everyone to the doctors the next day. As it turned out Katelyn and I both had sinus infections and ear infections while the boys were put on antibiotics for their sinus yuckies. That being said we looked pretty good in the following pics :-). Here is Katelyn and all her "Bubba's"

Jacob (11), Reed (2), Katelyn (9mon), Johnathan (9) and Andrew (7).Here is Katelyn and I opening what turned out to be her favorite present, a pink baby stroller.And here is Katelyn helping daddy put together her stroller.Sorry these are all so late and so few but hey I am working on getting better at this whole blogging thing (obviously I have a long way to go!)

Its the little things...

2009-01-01T00:47:00.000-08:00

2008 was a wonderful year! Stephen and I celebrated the birth of Katelyn in March and 3 years of marriage/8 years of being together/10 years of friendship in August :-D. And while both of those events are big deals I think 2008 was more about the little things rather then the big ones. Its the little things that happen every day that remind me of how blessed I am. Every time Katelyn lays her head on my shoulder. Every time she smiles and makes a bee line for Stephen as soon as he walks in the door. Every little giggle, every little excited dance and every little expression of ah and wonder at something new. Every time I pack up Katelyns cloths because she has out grown them and is now in a larger size. Every new trick she learns (the newest being her opening and closing her hand to wave instead of moving her whole arm and knowing that I am mama and Stephen is dada and calling us such). Its "birdie" kisses and mischievous smiles. Its cuddling on the couch with Stephen after a long day. Its going to bed at 10pm but staying up till midnight or later dreaming about the future, talking about our present or reminiscing about our past. Its listening to Stephen and his honesty while he prays. I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. I have thought about making new years resolutions but I am afraid that I would focus to much on those and then miss all the little things that will make 2009 fabulous. So here is to 2009 may it be a year to cherish all the little things!

Yup she is related to us...

2008-12-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

How to tell Katelyn and Stephen are related...
Their whole bodies are a tickle spot.
Their eyes light up when they smile.
They are both cuddle bugs.
They both snore.
They both sit and watch me clean (lol).
They both love to eat.
They both love to watch TV.
They both love to study things and figure out how they work.
They both need naps in the afternoon.
They both love me.

How to tell Katelyn and I are related...
We both love to sleep.
We both love to go barefoot.
We are both "hams".
We both like to shop :-)
We both love to sing.
We both love to dance.
We both love to read.
We both love to just sit and watch the lights on the Christmas tree.
Hearing Stephen on the phone makes both of us smile.
We both adore Stephen.

Katelyns New Tricks

2008-11-09T21:40:00.001-08:00

The last week has been a big deal for Katelyn. She has not one but two teeth breaking through, both on the bottom. She started this new lip smack thing that after several attempts I caught on camera. And the biggest of all...she started crawling!!! In her typical laid back attitude she will crawl only if she has too. For example there are no toys near by or she really, really wants to chew on my shoes then she will crawl to get them but for the most part she is still content to hang out where ever she is at.

Fall Festival

2008-11-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

On Saturday November 1st our church held its annual Fall Festival (our alternative to Halloween).Well originally Katelyn was going to be a bunny for the Fall Festival but considering it was like 80 degrees on Saturday and her outfit was thick and fuzzy we had to change the game plan so she was a cow instead. It was kinda nice with Katelyn this year because it got me out of working any of the booths or doing anything productive. We got to walk around the whole time and mingle but poor Stephen got stuck maning the inflatable obstacle course the whole time. As usual he was a good sport and did not complain once :-) Maybe next year we will alternate and he can take Katelyn around and I will work...well maybe...

All dressed and ready to go...

Cotton Candy YUM, actually she only took like two bites and then didn't want anymore.Her friend Ella on the other hand couldn't get enough!Katelyn got to ride the donkey, yeah she wasn't impressed.Stephen, only half way done but still smiling :-D

No place like home...

2008-11-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

I have been back from Cali for a while now and am yet to post pictures and thoughts on my trip. I am such a slacker but I am trying to change my ways ;-) So here we go...First off Katelyn is an awesome little travler! Both on the flight there and the flight home she was fast asleep before we reached crusing altitude and woke up during landing. I was also lucky enough to have an empty seat next to me on both flights so I was not stuck holding her for three hours straight.

Katelyn sleeping in her seat...Katelyn sitting up like a big girl in her own seat as we taxi into DFWWe then spent two weeks staying with Katelyns Nana and Grandpa (Stephens parents). On one hand it was great to spend so much time with them and on the other hand two weeks without Stephen is way to long (well even a day is too long but anyways). We got to visit with my Grandpa, my Gram and Bappy (by the way our second visit on thursday went much better and we are at peace with the way things are :-), Poppop, Katelyns Uncle Jonathan and "Auntie Amy"

We made many special memories and enjoyed our time there but we are glad to be back because afterall there is no place like home!

How do you say goodbye?

2008-10-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

For those that may not know I am in California right now for no other reason but to visit family and friends. Last night I visited with my Gram and Bappy (my dads parents) and I found myself unable to say goodbye. Bappy is not doing well, in fact he hasn't been doing well for a while but this is the worst he has ever been and there is no hope of improvement. We know this and he knows this and because we all know, he is embarrassed. In our usual tradition I was supposed to stay the night with them but found myself driving home at 8pm to keep him from getting agitated that I was there for so long. He refuses to go to the doctor even though his conditions is growing rapidly worse. He refuses to have company over, friends that he has known forever are being turned away at the door and their gifts going unnoticed. Because I didn't stay the night I am going back on Thursday to make them dinner, which brings up my question...how am I going to say goodbye? It was easy last night because I told them I would see them Thursday but I will be going home next week and then what? In all likelihood this will be my last opportunity to spend time with him and I would be perfectly content with just sitting with him in silence holding his hand, but will he let me?

Never Satisfied

2008-09-30T23:49:00.000-07:00

Its 2 o'clock in the morning and I am at work. I am in the nursery right now and only have three babies to look after, I should be thrilled. The last few weeks have been crazy with not enough hours in my 12 hour shift to get every thing done. So I'm putting it nicely when I say that I have been cranky and worn out. But not tonight. 90% of my work is already done and I am just literaly hanging out for 5 more hours. Then I can go home to my baby and take care of her instead of everyone elses. But it is going sooooo slow that I am once again cranky and worn out... I am just never satisfied at work...

So far behind...

2008-09-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

Lately I feel as though I am losing my mind trying to keep up on everything so forgive me for the long months of silence! I don't have much time to do this so let see where do I start to get you all caught up? Katelyn has had a lot of firsts lately. For example this morning is give me her first zerburt. We have had first kisses, first time sitting up all on her own, followed by first time sitting in her high chair with a sippy cup. She is getting so big and learning things so quickly she amazes us all the time! Here are some pics to catch you up on how big she has gotten...

Lastly I wanted to share her first time eating cereal, lucky for us so has gotten used to it and now even sometimes sometimes opens her mouth for it :-D Well that is it for now hopefully I can write more soon, and by soon I mean before Christmas ;-)

Like I need another thing to try and keep up on!?!?

2008-07-04T03:12:00.000-07:00

So I too have caught the blogging bug. As if myspace and facebook don't consume enough of my time. What am I thinking? Well I will tell you (isn't that what bloggings all about), I can't log on to myspace or facebook while at work. So for a whole 12 hours I have restricted internet acess. That used to drive me crazy until I discovered that blogging is not restriced (yet) :-D. Now I know that this probably reflects poorly on my work ethics but rest assured that this will not distract me from my patient care. Because that would imply that I have patients to take care of which most nights I don't. See I work in a tiny country hospital where we only deliver approx. 60-80 babies a month and those are usualy scheduled for day time as to prevent the doctors from *gasp* waking up in the middle of the night. So needless to say most nights I am BORED OUT OF MY MIND!! Not any more though! Well its 5:30am so its time to clean up and start getting things ready for day shift. Happy 4th of July...