not the 4th of July

I've been so preoccupied with things lately (yes, I do other things besides munch on Megan all day) that I almost forgot to blog about our 4th of July celebrations! On the 3rd, we got together with some of Jared's fam-damily for a BBQ at the Roberts'. It was incredibly delicious- ribs... mmm.... I tried to eat healthy but it just wasn't happenin'.

Later that night, we went to watch fireworks. At first, Megan whimpered a bit from the noise, but after the fireworks Finale, she put on her own show. She was standing on Jared's lap, bouncing up and down, shaking her head like crazy, and squealing with delight. She did it for several minutes. It was ridiculously hilarious and she received quite an audience.

Here's little Meggo all dressed up. Our little American Flag. It was a shame she wasn't smiling for the pictures. But, isn't she darling?

Mommy & Megan:

This has nothing to do with the 4th, but every time Megan sees "Nana" (Jared's mom), she pushes Nana's face over so she can get to the earrings. The picture below is of Megan sucking intently on one of Nana's earrings. Since this picture, Nana has gotten smarter and usually takes off her earrings before picking up the Megster.

On the actual 4th of July we didn't do anything special (except that Megan wore her 4th of July outfit to church and I know everyone thought she was the cutest thing in the world).

On the 5th, we all decided to go to the Great Salt Lake and float. If you've never been there, it is quite an experience; an experience that I never want to experience again! Seriously. The lake has no outlet so the water just sits there getting murky. It was the most disgsusting water I've ever been in. I wouldn't have gone into the water, except for the fact that everyone else went in (including Megan) and I wasn't about to look like a party pooper. Confession: I h-a-t-e getting in "natural" water. If I can't see the bottom, it freaks me out. Plus, the thought of being surrounded by aquatic wildlife gives me the heebie-jeebies.

The water was full of brine shrimp (almost-microscopic little shrimpies) and I felt like they were all over my body, covering every inch and getting in my hair. I wanted to throw up. I very well could have thrown up and nobody would have noticed; the water was that gross. Plus, there were probably a zillion gnats everywhere. I shudder just thinking that I ever put my body in that mass of nastiness.

Here's a picture of the brine shrimp, for your viewing (dis)pleasure:

Gross, right?

While I was wallowing in self-pity for inflicting myself with unsubstantiated torture, I looked over at Megan. Megan had NO CLUE that she was swimming in pure filth. She was happy as a clam, splashing herself and her daddy into oblivion. Oh, to have the innocence of a child!

Here is a picture of Megan in the water (at this point she had been in the water for a while and had salt in her eyes; hence, the unhappy look on her precious little face):

No, that's not a swimsuit. She doesn't have one. What kind of mother an I anyway?

After we got out of the water we took cold showers to rinse off all the shrimpies. Everyone was complaining about how cold they were. But, Megan? No complaints there! She was splashing in the freezing cold shower and having a blast! She sure taught me a thing or two that day.

Thing 1). I am a nonsensical fraidy cat
Thing 2). buncha other stuff related to me being a fraidy cat

Here are a few other random pictures from Antelope Island (Great Salt Lake) that were taken the day of the Epic Nasty Swim:

Megan rode her first buffalo!

Megan got her first drink from a drinking fountain (she loved it)!

Some little baby birdies. There were nests all over and it kind of made me happy:


And that, my friends, is all.
____________________