Happy belated 4th of July! We had a fantastic day, jam-packed full of activities. I'm sure you did, too.

Early that morning Ben, Anton, and Ezekiel decorated bikes for our neighborhood parade and headed down the street to the park for the 2nd Annual Pancake Breakfast.

 For whatever reason, Laith didn't want to decorate his bike...and didn't feel like pedaling, so Ben towed him with Thatcher's leash. Goofy kid.

 The pancakes were quickly gobbled up and Imani enjoyed her o.j. while we waited for the parade to begin.

 Cracks me up that there was a time that I didn't want kids. How lonely life would be without them. Aren't there prayers and plans you can think of in the past, that you're SO glad God didn't listen to?

 I have the exact life I never wanted...and I absolutely love it.

 We wound around the neighborhood with the parade and sweet little Imani completely zonked out

 What's a neighborhood party without face painting?

Missed Ben doing BMX tricks on Ezekiel's bike, bummer.

Once again, I tell you...he can't ACTUALLY be 40.

 Ok, on to our recipe for the most addictive sandwich ever.

We make them at least once every few weeks...and the leftovers are fantastic.

I forgot to take pics of the process but being that there are only 3 ingredients and all you do is put it in a crockpot, I have no doubt that you can figure it out.

{recipe}

Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwich...in the Crockpot

. ingredients . 

. 1 bottle Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce

. 1 packet ranch dressing seasoning

. 5-6 frozen chicken breasts {or thawed}

. ciabatta rolla

. directions .

{step 1} place frozen chicken breasts in crockpot, pour wing sauce and ranch seasoning on top

{step 2} cover and set on low for 6+ hours {I usually start it when the kids are eating breakfast}

{step 3} about 1 hour before serving, shred chicken {I simply use 2 forks & it falls apart} then place shredded chicken back in crockpot to soak up the flavor of the sauce until you toast your ciabatta rolls and are ready to eat

On to the Denver Outlaws {lacrosse} game, where Laith apparently became a superhero, Ezekiel's hair looks 5x bigger than normal, and Imani was super sleepy.

After the game, we stayed for a spectacular fireworks show. Imani however, clung to me with all her might until the loud blasts and flashes of lights subsided.

When I asked her, "Imani, isn't is pretty?" She replied curtly, "no."

Well, at least the boys loved it.

The entire way home, Ezekiel kept announcing to us that "this is the best day EVER. Happy Birthday, America!" Happy Birthday America, indeed.

Thank you Father that we...and he...live in this beautiful nation.

{take joy}

teresa