4th of July

For the Fourth of July, we had a picnic with my dad's side of the family - my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my cousins' kids. It has been a very long time since I had seen some of them. I am so glad we all got a chance to catch up with one another.

Once we were done eating, we let the kids do some major bubbles with sticks and rope tied together and then dipping it into a specific kind of bubble juice that has glycerin in it. It's the kind of bubbles that are long and huge. The kids loved it.

Connor doing his bubbles.

Connor letting Rigdon have a turn.

Ronin's got a nice, long one.

More bubbles.

My Uncle Kevin, Grandma Marilyn Hansen, and Aunt Rhonda.

I love Ronin's smile in this one. He shows every emotion on his face so prominently it's not hard to tell what he's feeling.

Rigdon felt so big doing it all by himself.

After we used up all of the bubbles, we started playing some kickball. I don't think I have played this since I was a kid. We played boys against girls. Oh, yeah!!!

Boys up to kick.

Connor's up next.

Ronin making contact.

Cory on first base, with Kaylee as first baseman.

Rigdon preferred the playground.

The Hansen family.(Sorry, the camera's exposure was way low and so the photo turned out really grainy.)

FIREWORKS!!!

When evening rolled around we headed to a hotel to hang out and watch the fireworks over the river that night. While we waited around, we went swimming in the hotel's swimming pool and then ate pizza.

Waiting for the fireworks.

My dad preferred sitting on the rock wall.

From left: Todd, Lisa and Penni.

From left: Judy, Drewe, Carson, Ronin, Connor, Jodi with Canyon.

The fireworks were great, Ronin decided to go to sleep halfway through it.

I love remembering what the 4th of July stands for: our freedom. I am so grateful for it and I think we as Americans take it for granted sometimes. It is always worth fighting for, always. Thank goodness there are willing men and women who feel the same way and unselfishly serve in our armed forces. Thank you for you service and courage!