This picture, taken after only a few minutes outside, proves that this was the hottest Independence Day in Faulkette history. Enjoy these funnies in the air conditioning, friends!

– Ana, concerning Wes’s strep throat, “When Papi dies, can I have his iPad?” Compassion, thy name is Ana.

– Emma to me, “When I’m a grown up, I want just five teeth.” We’re going to save a fortune on orthodontic bills for this one.

– Emma, “That is so sunny, Ana!” Ana, “I think you mean funny, Emma.” Emma, “Yeah, it is so sunny!” You should hear her talk about giraffes.

– Ana, biting into an M&M and looking to see what’s inside, “It’s made of dirt! Dirt!” Emma to Ana, “I thought it was chocolate.” Ana to Emma, “Nope. Dirt!” Didn’t stop her from eating the rest of them, though…

– Emma to me, on the subject of my sister’s dogs, “Luke can catch a ball. And he can shake my hand! And he can sit. But Cooper can’t do anything. And the other dog that lives there is dead.” Luke didn’t have to work very hard to be exciting — he just had to do something. And have a pulse.

– Me to Ana, “What did you learn about during Sunday school at Nana’s church?” Ana to me, “About followin’ God’s ten rules.” Me to Emma, “What did you learn in your Sunday school class at Nana’s church?” Emma to me, “How to dance.” FBC San Antonio — they make the four year olds walk the straight and narrow, but the three year olds are celebrating Sunday footloose-style.

– Ana to me, showing off her placemat artwork, “I drew my favorite pizza!” Emma, doing the same, “And I drew some blood!” Which is true on two levels — she scraped up her knees and drew blood before lunch AND took a crayon and drew some blood during lunch. Awesome.

– Emma, lying on her back in the empty kiddie pool, as I was trying to fill it up with water, “Look! I can float!”

– Ana, stepping in some mud on her way out of the kiddie pool, “My feet are stuck! I feel like a PIG!” This was rocking her clean little OCD world.

– And on the subject of “pigs,” Emma, looking at Wes’s feet, “Papi, you have a lot of piggies!” Wes to Em, “I just have ten.” Em to Wes, “Wow, that is A LOT!” She’s going to be so surprised when she counts her own ten piggies.

– Ana, moaning and melting down ten minutes before the above picture was taken, “The sun is killing me! I should have stayed inside!” Emma to me, ecstatically happy, “Mommy, look at that puppy playin’ over there!” Could they be any different?!

Hope your Fourth was happy!