July Fourth Festivities

We celebrated the Fourth of July at "FreedomFest" in Aubrey at Rancho de la Roca. We enjoyed pedalboating, bounce houses, a train ride, a picnic dinner, and at the end of the evening a fireworks display.

On Monday, the fifth, we spent the day at Eagle Mountain Lake with the Eden family.

Kenna:

Cullen:

Caleb:

Camden jumping off the boat:

All the kids practicing their "dead man's float":

After all that riding, swimming and floating Camden needed a rest:

Kenna and Amy:

Cullen and Robert:

Kim and Kevin impressed us all with their wakeboarding skills:

It was a great day that had us all worn out at the end, especially the kids:

Sparkling Smile!

Since Kenna was just a toddler, we knew this time was coming. At one of her first appointments, the dentist suggested that we start saving for braces - with her tiny mouth, Kenna would definitely need them one day. Well, after several consultations with the orthodontist over the last few years, that day finally arrived last week. Kenna got her much-anticipated "sparkling smile".

Here's a "before" picture. When I look at that beautiful smile, it's easy to wonder why we're spending all this money for braces; but, while her top teeth look pretty straight, they are actually wearing on the bottom ones because of the way that they curve and her bottom teeth are definitely overcrowded and in need of straightening.




Here she is "in the chair", waiting to start. It was really cold in the office, so I went to the car for the picnic blanket I always have on hand for just such a situation. She did a great job during the hour and a half long process, sitting there with her mouth held open by a really uncomfortable looking piece of plastic. I actually got a picture of it, but it wasn't really flattering, so I promised her I wouldn't post that picture!



Everytime we have been to the orthodontist for our consultations, Kenna has passed any wait time by admiring all the different colors of bands she would get to chose from to go around her brackets. Each month we'll go back to get her wire replaced, and she'll get to change the color. This time, in honor of July 4th, she opted for the patriotic look:

What a beauty!