Independence Day

I LOVE the fourth of July!  We had a great day!

We got up and headed up to Soda Springs to spend the day.  The fourth of July is just better there!  We started our day at the parade and it did not disappoint!  The kids have enough candy to last them the rest of the their life and they had a blast.  We then headed over to the park and walked around for a little bit and the kiddos played on the playground.  All of my younger cousins are so good at playing with my kids and it is a sweet thing to see.

Next, we headed over to my Grandpa and Grandma Cleggs.  We had a yummy lunch and all had a chance to talk and spend time with one another.  Benjamin and Sarah took a much needed nap (with Mark!) and Jacob relaxed and played baseball and legos while most of the others went to the shooting range.  

Once the kiddos all got up, our little family drove over to the geyser and watched that.  We will have to remember their swimsuits next year so they can get wet but they still had a fun time watching it go off and stomping in the water and it definitely brought back lots of memories from my visits here as a little kid.  

We then headed back over to Grandpa and Grandmas and played in the family baseball game.  It was quite the game (and I am sadly not very athletic) but we had a good time!  Jacob and Sarah headed over to my Grandma Dixie's while Mark and I played and Benjamin cheered us on from the sidelines!

  

After the game we headed over to Grandma Dixie's to spend the evening with her.  It was wonderful to be over at her place and watch my kiddos play with the same toys I played with.  It is always so sweet to see that.  It was a beautiful evening and Grandma had made a scrumptious meal for us to enjoy.

After dinner we put Benjamin down for bed and we started our fireworks.  And boy did we have fireworks this year!  Between Melina and Tanner we had quite the show!  Jacob was in HEAVEN with the fireworks!  He couldn't get enough of them and had a smile on his face the entire time.  His hands were just a moving!  Sarah, on the other hand, was completely terrified by the fireworks.  She snuggled up with my mom and had her blanket covering her eyes most of the time, trying to be brave, and wanting to be a part of things.  Bless her little heart.

Once, our fireworks were over it was getting pretty late and the big city ones were about to start.  I went to go put Sarah down to bed and we were going to let Jacob stay up late and watch them when he told me he was ready for bed.  This was probably the first time Jacob has ever asked to go to bed and I told him that was just fine.  Benjamin had gotten up and was fussing and we just decided that we were good to go.  

The kiddos all had a great time and conked out on the drive home.  And Mark and I got to watch fireworks going off the whole drive back.  It was a great day.  I feel so blessed to live in this great nation and be apart of this country and grateful for all of those that have fought to give me the freedoms that I enjoy.  

The next day we got up early once again to do family pictures.  This is the first time my family has done family pictures since before I was married.  I can't wait to see how they turned out!

Everyone then came back to our place, packed up and headed back home.  It was a great reunion!