4th of July

(Yes, I'm aware that it is the 12th of July....Remember, we are pretending that this post was done on the 4th...Use your imagination people!)

Our Independence Day was wonderful. We started out the day at church and heard some great testimonies about the importance of the Freedom we have in this country. I love singing the patriotic songs and feeling the spirit bear witness of how utterly blessed I am to live in this country.

We then came home, ate lunch and put the kids down for naps. I got my food items ready and napped myself. I woke up and found Steven and the kids playing outside. Kim and Logan were taking turns playing Lassoball (AKA Red-neck Horseshoes) against Steven. I have to say the kids are getting better and better. Owen kept stealing the balls and running off. Notice the peach tree in the background, it was only hit once or twice....my garden wasn't so lucky.


Notice in the background (off to the right) the edge of my garden. The poor romaine lettuce and broccoli got the brunt of the attack, but held their own. Guess our players will need to perfect their aim some more.


Here is Logan between games and playing with his bucket. Probably off to dig up something from my garden. (I don't have to worry about too many little pests...just a couple 2 legged ones armed with shovels.)
Here is Mr. Happy Baby. Evan was content to sit on mommy's lap and laugh while everyone else played. Check out that grin. He is just so adorable and don't worry, we pinch those cheeks all the time. It is just too hard to resist.


After a yummy BBQ dinner (hot dogs for the kiddos and super yummy, marianted and grilled pork for mom and dad) we tried to get some pics of the kids in their Red, White and Blue shirts. Fortunately, I made red jello, so it blended into Owen's shirt and kinda fits the pattern of Logan's. Here are all four kids. Such a cute little, uncooperative bunch.


Here is Kim. She hates getting her picture taken...or at least she claims to.


Logan all posed with his fake grin with his flag. (Thanks to Michaels for our super cheap swords with fabric attached.)
Owen very proud to show off his flag. He didn't want to sit still and get his picture taken. He wanted to run around and hit stuff (and even people) with his flag.


Precious little Evan. He was the best one for his pictures. Just layed there and looked cute. Not too hard a job for such a wonderful little boy like him.

Sorry there aren't any pics of our super awesome (haha) firework display. First, we are mean parents and make our kids go to bed early. (We were going to let them stay up until 9, but they were super cranky from getting up at 6am and needed to get to bed.) Second, we lit off fireworks at 8:30pm while it was still pretty light outside. (Yep, it gets dark at 10pm here, because we are so far north. I consider it one of the few sucky things about living Idaho.) Third, I was way too lazy to go back inside and get the camera. I told Steven to, but he didn't feel like it either.

So there you have it. Lots of good food and games. Some fireworks for the kiddies. And some pondering on the Freedom that we are blessed enough to have. All in all, a wonderful holiday.