July 4th

It's was a pretty perfect day, this Independence Day.  I loved it from beginning to late late end!

These kinds of days confirm to me over and over that life is better with family.  And we sure are blessed to have large families - we get lots of visitors heading our way, especially in the summer.

This week, we have Tyler's sister Jamie, and her husband Branden and their three adorable kids.  The took a break from the intense heat of the desert to join us for a few days of fun and our kind of 'country' living.


We started the morning with waffles and whipped cream and berries, and bacon, and juice and stuff.  We got the kids ready for the day and dropped our two older boys off for their first ever float ride in our parade.  They got decked out as Revolutionary War soldiers, all in blue and white, on a float with a fort and cannon on it.  So cool!  They loved throwing candy - it cracked me up when they passed us because Ben was taking it all so seriously.  Kids are awesome!

After the parade we came home and ate lunch and played and napped, and a great storm rolled it.  The kids played in the sprinkler between showers, and ran around eating their big bags of candy.  Part of me wants to get them to put those treats away, for goodness sake, but part of me just wants it all gone and over with, so it's not around the house for days, you know?

We cooked some brats and dogs on a wood fire outside, cracked open a watermelon, cooked some corn on the cob, and ate 'till we were all so full.  We enjoyed the rain from the porch and the yard, and then bundled everyone up for fireworks.

We found the best spot this year - quiet, only a few other families, lots of space to throw down a blanket and some chairs.  And the show was amazing!  Every year we are just so impressed about what kind of show this tiny town manages to throw.  The joke is, every year, we are just sure THIS is the finale and i'ts going to be over, and that's said 2,3, or 5 times well before the finale ever comes.  It's long, it's intense, it's wondrous and sparkly and awe inspiring, and we all just laughed in delight the whole way through.

As we were driving home, after 10 pm, James said, "This was a pretty awesome big day."  Then, "I'm happy."

Me, too.  We were all so happy.


I hope you had a Happy 4th, too!