Fourth of July...Finally!

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ok, so I finally finished this post about the Fourth of July - It's one of my favorite holidays because it's so easy to get into the patriotic spirit and I just LOVE themes! We took over 350 pictures over Fourth of July weekend, but I narrowed it down to my favorite 50 or so to put in this post. Here's a little Fourth of July highlight/recap from the Rollins Ruckus! I've also included a few pics from Fourth of Julys past - I love seeing how things of changed and what has stayed the same! These pictures will have the header "Blast from the Past."

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When I took LilliAnn to get her 2 months pictures made, I took the kids' 4th of July outfits and had their picture made together as well so we could send out Happy 4th of July cards to our family. 

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And man, was it work! Jett and Lacee came with us too and the boys were very rowdy...to say the least! We got quite a few good pictures in the beginning, only for the photographer to tell us that one of the boys had accidentally turned off one of the lights and all of the pictures turned out too dark! Just our luck! Trying to get two toddlers and a newborn to pose for a second photo shoot was near impossible! Although we did end up with some pretty good shots!

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Jett & Reid -  9 months apart and just like brothers

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Since Reid was a baby I've bought him 4th of July pajamas to wear every year at the lake. Here's a pic of him right after he woke up this 4th of July.

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Blast from the past...

Reid Jackson at Grandma Lucy and Papa Glenn's house at Wewoka Lake on his first 4th of July (2008)!

 2 months old

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Here's mommy and LilliAnn this year at Grandma Lucy's and Papa Glenn's on her first 4th of July (2010)!

2 months old

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My baby boy

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Blast from the past...

Reid in his 4th of July Pajamas last year (2009)

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Reid in his 4th of July pajamas this year (2010)

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Blast from the past...

Reid on his first 4th of July with Papa Glenn (Reid's great-grandpa)

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LilliAnn on her first 4th of July with Papa Glenn

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Blast from the past...

July 4, 2008

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July 4, 2010

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my sweet girl in her "My First 4th of July" onesie

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All-Amerian Boy! When this picture was taken he couldn't pedal very well and he liked to just "scoot" along on the bike. Now, just a couple of weeks later, Reid's riding his bike like a pro!

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Last year we dressed up in all our patriotic garb and did a photo shoot down by the lake. soooo...I decided to make it a tradition and do it again this year (even though Jeb & Reid were NOT excited about it)!

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my little lady liberty

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I think I was trying to bribe Reid to take a family photo with us!

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In our stars & stripes bikinis

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And you see how well the family photo went :)

God Bless America!

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Blast from the past...

The Rollins Ruckus - July 4, 2009 (Reid was more cooperative last year!)

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The Rollins Ruckus 1 year later - July 4, 2010

Livin' the American Dream!

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Blast from the past...

my two favorite boys July 4, 2009 - This is one of my favorite pics of them!

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LilliAnn and her daddy (2009) - He didn't approve of the stars & stripes bikini!

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Proud Parents! 

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I love his long eyelashes!

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Lil - Almost 3 months, Reid - 2 years

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posing with mommy

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Isn't this just the cutest little boy you've ever seen?

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Blast from the past...

All-American Hunk - July 4, 2009 (14 months old)

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Standing by the same door 1 year later and so much bigger!

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Blast from the past...

This picture CRACKS ME UP! I bought this little hat for Reid's first 4th of July. I actually think that it's supposed to be for a pet. Reid is going to kill me for this one day! 

Mommy's Little Sparkler - July 4, 2008

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Sorry sis, you didn't get out of it. You had to wear the Uncle Sam hat too!

LilliAnn - July 4, 2009

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I just love my husband! He's always such a great sport about getting into "character" and going with the theme? Poor thing! I really appreciate him getting excited (let me rephrase that...ACTING excited) about all the things I get excited about.

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Fishing time! The boys did a little fishing off the dock. Jett would hold the fish and throw them back in, but Reid wasn't too into holding the fish - as you can tell by his face! At one point a fish flopped onto the dock and Jeb kicked it back into the water with his foot. From then on Reid wanted to lay the fish down on the dock and kick them back into the water. When we wouldn't let him, the meltdown began!

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Getting a little better at it...

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ummm...not so much!

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Precious picture - daddy showing Reid how to hold a fish. Look how hard he's concentrating.

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my shining star

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I love this picture! So adorable...So American!

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And...we did a little cruising on the pontoon boat - no more booze cruise, now it's the cruise for infants and elders!

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The All-American Kiss

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Best brother- in-law ever! Josh & I

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Less than 3 months post-baby #2 - 4 pounds to go!

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Emily, my very best friend from college and who I graduated nursing school with, came up from Dallas! I always have so much fun with her!

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My famous annual 4th of July delight - brownie cheesecake dessert

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Getting ready to start the firework show!

The Fantastic Four

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Framer

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Blast from the past...

Reid Jackson in his patriotic attire last 4th of July (2009) - P.S. Those denim shorts still fit him! Skinny little thing!

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Happy Baby

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This is her serious face. She looks like her brother here.

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All of the Great-Grandkids (minus LilliAnn & Joslynn- 

in Lacee's belly!)

This pic is a little snapshot that captures all of their personalities! Love it!

Jett, Eli, Reid, & Audri

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Well, we almost got a good one! Reid was SOOOO over pictures! (Do you blame him with a mom like me?)

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Once again, Reid is concentrating very hard at learning how to hold a sparkler. He's got his serious face on!

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Roman candles were his favorite! I think they used to be his daddy's favorite too! Jeb has a scars from old Roman candle fights!

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She thoroughly enjoyed the show! Such pretty eyes! Hopefully hers will stay blue and I'll have one brown-eyed boy and one blue-eyed girl!

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My amazing parents that made all of this possible! Thanks dad for the absolutely PERFECT new lake house! We'll enjoy it for years to come!

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Like I already said, one of my favorite holidays. Summer, sun, stars, stripes, boats, babies, family, food, fishing, fireworks, fun, friends - an entire weekend of celebrating our country's independence with those I love the most! Now do you see why I love it so much?