The annual 4th of July post is here. This post takes me days and days to sort out pictures and work through the timeline. We get pictures from many sources when you consider cameras and phones. Blogger imports them by number which means that I have to scroll back and forth to line up the events. Anyway, I don't always get the order correct and the fact that the events happened over two months ago doesn't help the process either, ha! Here we go!
Day One Friday June 30th:
M went to summer school as usual. Brandon and I packed while T "helped" which meant she packed most of what she owned! I wanted to give her a free screen pass, but I knew the kids would be watching movies in the car so we just kept moving forward and were able to pick up M a little early.
The drive was pretty uneventful. The kids had gone so long without movies that they truly enjoyed the movie time and the audio book time and were quite content travelers.
When we arrived to MO, Grandpa Tom was grilling some tasty chicken. Brandon's sister and kids arrived soon after we did. It was so fun to be together. We had great food and conversation and got all the unpacking done and the rooms settled.
Tom was grilling, the adults were chatting on the deck, and the kids were playing outside. All of the sudden the deck swing broke with Brandon on it. There was much much laughter! Better him than an older person. He was not hurt at all.
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| He was a good sport... |
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| ...and clearly made a full recovery! |
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| T: I couldn't wait to get my room set up and play with A! |
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| M: Grandpa Tom taught me a new game! |
Day Two Saturday July 1st:
I am not sure the events of the mornings, but you can rest assured that the kids were up early and that Grandpa Tom was a huge help!
Early that morning the kids and Judy decorated the cake we ate at lunch.
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| Working together! |
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| The finished product! |
Once the cake was decorated, it was time to get ready for the photo shoot. This year Tom and Judy ran with a fun brainstorm idea about a family photo/Christmas card pic. The photo essentially tells a story with each of us wearing something that is meaningful to us or represents us. It is a bit odd, but a pretty fun idea and I am proud to say we did it!
The photographer started by trying to find a location in Tom and Judy's yard that didn't have sun spots. We decided that down below their house (on the road) they might be able to find a good location. They have a steep and curving driveway. I don't really love driving up and down it forward, but I would never attempt to back down the driveway. In search for better lighting everyone was backing down the driveway. The photographer ended up getting her car off the driveway in into a dangerous spot. This lead to delays and laughter and ultimately deciding to just leave the car until after the photos were taken.
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| Strike a pose. |
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| T: We were really like models! |
After the family photos it was time to access the photographer's car and call AAA because it would have been dangerous to try to get it out. While we were waiting for AAA the kids befriended a neighborhood dog, and many members of Judy's family arrived.
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| M and T: We think you should keep this dog Grandma and Grandpa! |
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| M: I really needed to regulate myself after the photo shoot. (NO JOKE) |
As you can see from the photo below, the car was leaning a lot and very close to a tree so the tow truck was super helpful.
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| The tow truck driver had a lot of help, which was needed actually! |
After the car drama was over it was time to eat and play at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The kids just love being together. The girls changed out of their new fancy dresses for some patriotic apparel.
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| T: It was fun to wear flag clothes like A and Grandma Judy! |
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| Awww, a picture of Brandon and I without the kids! Fun! |
T LOVES Brandon's cousins T and T. She gravitates towards the younger T and is not easily swayed in her quest to get his attention. T was interested in having a little snooze and our T was not having it!
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| T: T was sleeping and we were not impressed! |
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| T: I know how to wake him up, you just lift up his eyelids (she does this a lot, super refreshing way to wake up, ha!) |
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| T: See, isn't fun to be awake??? |
After they were done mercilessly harassing playing with T they all decided to play downstairs. The games sometimes involve sports, but often just involve wrestling, tackling and being silly!
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| Spinning each other is a great way to begin a wrestling match. |
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| M: Daddy's Aunt Jeanette is pretty strong. |
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| M: I LOVE A!! |
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| M: A knows some great moves! |
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| Cousins and Buddies. They are 9 months apart! |
Wrestling wore them out so they took a few minute Lego break to cool off!
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| T: I love being around other kids who love Legos! |
Once everyone had a bit of relaxation and I am guessing snacks, it was time for a scavenger hunt. I guess A and A had done one in the past and wanted to do one with our M and T! The kids got clues that lead them all over the yard with a little surprise at the end! It was fun to see them work together to find and read the clues!
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| M: I loved reading the clues! |
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| T: I love my stuff!! |
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| M: Whoa guys, there is candy in here! |
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| T: We got some pretty cool 4th of July headbands! Aunt Mel is so much fun! |
After several hours at Tom and Judy's it was time to go to Uncle Curt's farm for all of our MANY 4th of July weekend traditions! M was thrilled to get to go with T and T a bit early. His carseat forced the brothers to get pretty cozy in the back seat!
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| M: I admit it, I was wishing I could live with them. |
Once most of us got to the farm the activities started. Yes, the girls did switch back into their princess dresses! I was not there for some of it because I decided to take a walk. Last year over 4th of July Weekend I gained seven pounds... more than Thanksgiving. It did eventually come off, but this year I was focused on getting my walks in and managed to not gain any weight! Yay! Because we have MANY traditions, the photos may or may not be in the correct order, but I am going to pretend this is the order!
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| T: This thing was amazing! |
Next up were water rockets and air rockets. OK, I am not sure what the second kind of rockets were called, but you launch them by stomping on a cushion filled with air. It was hard for the kids to launch them, but the girls loved gathering them so it was a great exercise for them!
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| M: We were not sure if it would work! |
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| M: It worked... and it was awesome!!! |
Next it was time to check out the cows!
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| T: The cows were pretty far away! |
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| T: I don't know why, but this was our favorite pose of the day! |
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| By far the best photo of the 4 of them! |
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| M: We were quiet and the cows actually came closer. |
After cow gazing came eating... I think! Every year we roast hotdogs. Every year I have hotdog drama with my roasting sticks. This year I lost three hotdogs before using an actual roasting stick. M was obsessed with the fire. We were fine with him poking at it, but he was testing every limit because, "Mom, fire is my life." Hmmm.
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| M: The fire is behind the dry wood. I had a so much fun burning things. |
When M was done eating and fire playing it was time to become obsessed with little firework poppers. There were plenty and M sure enjoyed them.
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| M: At first I was confused, but then... it was amazing! |
While the kids were waiting for the parade to happen they were given some fun crafting gifts from one of Brandon's aunts. M was interested in the poppers, but the others couldn't wait to get crafting.
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| T: I am glad my cousins like projects! |
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| They were quite a sight to see. |
The girls loved adding even more accessories for the parade!
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| T: We tried to wear as much as possible! |
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| It always take a while to for the parade riders to assemble! |
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| All the sisters rode on THE float this year! |
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| All siblings accounted for as Judy's brother was the driver. |
If you haven't read about our 4th of July traditions before, you might think they were off to be a part of a parade. Nope! They were the parade. They drive through the property several times while the non-riders wave and cheer. A unique family tradition!!!
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| M and T: Give us a ride dad, the parade wasn't long enough! |
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| M and T: We sure love Lily! |
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| T: She is like a pillow dog! |
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| M: I told Valerie I would only take a picture with her if we sat here! |
Next up was ROCKETS!!! Our kids built there's earlier in the summer. I blogged about that a while ago! They were so excited to shoot them off for the first time.
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| M: I was excited for the rocket show to begin! |
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| Apparently a salute needed to happen. |
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| T: Is it time Daddy?!? |
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| M: Go for it T!! |
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| M: Oh no, it is heading towards a tree! |
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| M: Mine went to the perfect place! |
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| M: And I retrieved it on my own! It is ready for another round next year! |
T's rocket did end up getting stuck in a tree. At first a small attempt was made to get it down by throwing balls etc up into the tree. This proved unsuccessful and then a large gathering of men and young men started coming up with ideas to get it down and soon it became so much bigger than the rocket! Lives were risked, tree limbs broken, memories made... and a rocket saved. It was hard to get great photos or remember the exact order, but here you go!
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| First they tried to throw balls at it! |
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| Then Brandon climbed the tree and tried to shake the large limb. |
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| Then it was time for a rope and a folding chair! |
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| Standing on a folding chair with a pitch fork. |
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| Safety First! |
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| Standing on a folding chair top while holding a pitchfork with a rope and a four wheeler mixed in. |
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| Finally standing on the 4 wheeler and then putting it in reverse so that the rocket could be reached for the win!!!! |
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| One last ride! |
As the evening went on the kids got light up balloons in preparation for the fireworks.
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| T: Blow this up... Please!!! |
A LOT of fireworks were purchased. Wow! I think it took close to two hours to set them all off. We didn't get back to Tom and Judy's until after 11:00. What a FULL day!!!!
Day Three Sunday, July 2nd:
The day started later than usual! Thank goodness the kids slept a bit later than their usual 6:00am vacation wake up time! Actually, they slept in quite a bit. We were planning to go to both Grandpa Tom's churches, but we ended up making an appearance for the last song at one church and then attending the second church. It was still nice to see the people in church number one, so not a waste at all. It is so special to see Tom in the pastoral role and to meet the people at the churches.
Day 4 Monday July 3rd:
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| Brandon brought his bike and was able to enjoy a few morning rides with nice views! |
Grandpa Tom is an expert at pancake art! The kids just love pancakes so it is a good combination! We had a low-key start to the day.
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| A princess... I think. |
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| A dog, right? |
After pancake people the kids played piano and danced and sang.
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| M: I love Grandma Judy's keyboard! |
A and A wake up a bit later than our crew so they had time to do some clay dough projects too!
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| T: The clay was super soft and Grandma Judy as lots of fun supplies! |
M stayed in his PJ's for most of the day.
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| M: I love to cuddle with Grandpa Tom! |
Brandon's aunts came over to play and then many people went to a pizza place for lunch.
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| M: I love a good game of Yahtzee! |
Finally the cousins came and more adventures began. While the kids were playing Tom and Brandon did a dental exam and I walked. I then had my exam and Brandon went to eat pizza. Judy was alone with many children for a while, but they did did quite well!
Day 5 Tuesday July 4th:
We actually came home from the 4th of July weekend fun on the 4th. M had summer school on the 5th and we were ready to get back to routine! The day started with more pancake creations!
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| T: Thanks Grandpa Tom! |
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| M: Tasty! |
The car ride home was pretty uneventful. We were a bit nervous about some dark clouds to the west so we stopped for gas and some convenience store hotdogs (a new treat for the kids) but then the storm ended up not being that big of a deal after all. We never really had too much traffic which was a nice surprise!
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| T: This is one thick hot dog! |
We got home and unpacked and headed for bed. T woke up to hear the local fireworks and I ended up holding her up to a window so she could watch the show. It has been fun to relive this weekend through the pictures. We are a very blessed family!
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