4th of July in Lake City

Our 4th of July in Colorado was fantastic. It might have been one of my favorite days. We woke up, had breakfast, and then drove about an hour and a half in to Lake City. Okay, here's my one complaint. I want to stay really close to a town, then get up and move to the next town. We sort of stayed in between towns, so the drives were long and it was hard to get up and go do what that town had to offer, but since we went with family, who prefers staying in more outdoorsy- off the grid campgrounds- this is what we had to do. And it was fine. I'd just maybe do it different next time. 

Okay, so we got up and drove to Lake City and our first stop was this gorgeous waterfall just off the highway. Literally you're in the mountains on semi-flat ground, and it's like a canyon just opens up and there's a beautiful waterfall. 

We saw it from the look out, and then we walked right over to the top of it. 

Then we walked further down and looked at the river flowing on the other side. 

Gretchen found some wildflowers and put them in her braid for the day. 

We walked and explored and it was beautiful. A nice quick stop off the road. 

Then we drove in to Lake City, which is the most quintessential Colorado town ever. Part of me says I could live in a town like this, and the other part says only if there's a Target nearby. 

The roads were dirt, the buildings were beautiful colors and I love walking in and out of the shops.

There was also a huge festival going on in their town square/park. We're talking 3 legged races, egg tosses, and so many other fun games that anyone could participate in! Adalyn and Megan tossed an egg, but got out in the 2nd round. 

We also brougth some of our 4th of July bracelets and gifted them to people! That was so much fun! 

We stopped for lunch at an internet cafe, and nothing says the 4th of July like a pulled pork sandwich smothered with cheese, and topped with butery toast.

After lunch, we had ice cream of course! 

And more shopping. You can't tell in the pictures, but there was cottonwood blowing everywhere! Which made all of our allergies go crazy, and it looked like snow! 

The Welte girls on the 4th of July. 

These little flower pots lined the wooden sidewalks, and it just screamed old west, right out of a movie. 

There was also a lake in Lake City, which again, if we were closer to the town and had more days, would have been awesome to explore, and there's a lot of trails and 4x4 rides you can take. 

We made it back to the campground and celebrated the evening with a hot dog roast! 

Since we were in a national forest, fireworks weren't allowed.... we could have gone in to a town to watch them, but we didn't really want to drive that far and stay out that late. But I'd say everyone had a great time roasting their hot dogs. 

I think we also played a big game of Family Feud that night and things got heated! Gee was always on the winning team. 

Then, we took Adalyn's "last night as a 9 year old" picture because the next day was her birthday!!!

Our 4th

We started out our 4th of July, by making a huge family announcement!!!! 

Yup, our family is moving to Texas, just in case you missed it! 

DJ actually started yesterday with the University of Texas, and we'll be cheering on the Longhorns this football season!

More on this move and how it's all going down soon :) 

After sharing our news, we headed to the fire work stand to pick out the loudest fireworks we could find! 

And then we came back to the lake house and jumped right in! 

After swimming off the dock, we headed out for a boat ride with babies in tow. 

And the big girls did some tubing. 

We stopped and swam for a bit. 

And eventually, Addy fell asleep. Unfortunately, it was a short nap and homegirl was cranky. 

But, this girl was all smiles. 

We tubed some more. 

Addy Pearl took full advantage of being the birthday girl and was always reminding us that her birthday was the next day. 

Addy and I came off the boat early and took a little long nap ;) 

When she woke up we had dinner, and then celebrated her birthday! (I'll be blogging all of her birthday celebrations soon!)

We waited for it to get dark, and the girls put on a little talent show for us. 

They did gymnastics....

sang.....

flipped..... 

sang more songs.....

and dj'd......

Then we headed outside for fireworks! 

We did sparklers....

and let the girls set off the fireworks they chose from the stand earlier that day. Then we watched a huge firework show that Pops and DJ put on for us. 

And, then we tucked in our four year old for the very last time! 

Friday Favorites: Our 4th of July!

Hey, hey Friday! So good to see you again! This weekend, DJ and I are on a little getaway and we could not be more excited than some time away! It's also my birthday tomorrow and I plan to spend the day shopping and celebrating! 

I'm linking up today with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favorites! 

And, I'm recapping our 4th of July since that holiday is a favorite around here!

This was only the second 4th of July that we've spent in Oklahoma. Our first was right when Adalyn was born, but we're usually on the lake for the 4th! So, our holiday looked a little different since it was just the 5 of us. 

We started our morning with our neighborhood bike parade! We decorated the girls bikes over the weekend so they would be ready for Monday. 

Addy Pearl can finally reach her bike pedals, so now we just have to practice her pedaling skills. 

Much thanks to the Dollar Tree for all of the 4th of July decor on their bikes! 

Meggie was ready! 

And so was Gretchen. 

DJ walked in the parade with the girls so he could push Adalyn. In all honesty, I could have walked too, but I was happy to sit back and watch them take off and come back around. The parade was led by a police car playing patriotic tunes, and then a golf cart, and then tons of neighborhood kids on their bicycles and scooters. There was even a motorcycle in the parade! 

They did one short block, and DJ and the little girls came home, and then they did one more block, and Gretchen continued the parade and then met us back at the park. 

After the parade, we sat in the shade while DJ bought snow cones! 

Gypsy Ice is becoming our favorite! 

Addy requested a yellow snow cone- so she puckered up at the lemon!

After lunch, the girls and I headed to the pool. 

Addy skipped her nap, so she needed lots of cuddles! 

We came home around 4 and our company arrived at 5. DJ smoked pork and mac and cheese, and we sat outside watching the girls on the slip and slide while we waited for dinner to finish. 

Adalyn was all tuckered out and fell asleep! 

Since we were outside, I diffused our Citronella oil to keep the mosquitos at bay! 

So, I did a ton of posting on Snapchat while the girls were playing outside and of our dinner, and I didn't save any of them! You can follow me on snapchat so you don't miss out- @elainewelte 

Our friends left after dinner since they had to work the next day, but we stayed up late watching the  neighborhood fireworks. 

I asked Addy to go put shoes on, and she came outside in her Lambie horseshoes and asked to put on the helmet because it was loud! 

Our fireworks in the neighborhood were amazing! I've seen firework shows, and we've sat off fireworks, but I've never been in a neighborhood where they constantly went off in every corner and above every house. It definitely sounded like a war zone in our neighborhood! 

We stayed outside super late shooting fireworks and watching everyone else's, and then came inside to tuck in our two year old for the last time!!!! On Tuesday, Adalyn turned 3 and we celebrated her all day! 

We hope that your family had a great 4th of July too! How did you celebrate?