Celebrating the 4th

Today we celebrated the independence of our country. It was another day filled with fun, family, and friends. I am grateful to live in a nation that makes the life I live and days like today possible.

Matthew was reminded how much he enjoys building pyrotechnics yesterday with the smoke bombs, so today we tried our hands at homemade rockets. We built the bodies inside with paper and packing tape, then Matthew mixed up the fuel and put together the engines outside. After Mercy woke up from her nap, we headed into the petroglyphs behind our neighborhood to shoot them off. The kids were complete pansies and insisted on hiding inside the truck. The rockets themselves were pretty pathetic and entirely unpredictable, but it was a fun family experiment. 

At 4:00 pm we walked down to the Shaw's. It looked like another storm was brewing, so we made the kids hold off on swimming. They kept asking though, and the rain never came, so eventually we gave in and everyone piled into the pool. The dad's were in charge of life guarding this time. I knew Mercy wouldn't enjoy being splashed and jostled about by all the big kids so I had decided preemptively that she would not be getting in. She saw everyone else in their swim suits though so she stripped herself down naked and stayed that way until the rest of the kids changed back into their play clothes. 

After hot dogs, BBQ chicken, chips, cheetos, soda, fruit, and all manner of party food, the kids went back outside to play in the dirt. My favorite part of this picture is poor little Abraham in time out. I'm not sure what he did, but he sure didn't do it again after his dad made him stand in the corner.

While the kids played, the women sat inside and talked and the men sat out on the patio and discussed whatever it is men discuss. Thus the evening passed away and around 8:00 pm we went over to the Sandgren's for fireworks. I felt a real sense of community surrounded by friends, with neighbors on three sides also out and bursts of light going off all around us. Matthew particularly enjoyed lighting sparkler after sparkler for all the kids and seeing how much they were enjoying themselves. It was all quite magical. Ashley brought her camera and caught some fun shots by the light of the fireworks.

 One thing I love about being primary president is getting to know all the kids and forming real relationships with them. Throughout the evening I had at least three different kids, none of them mine, cuddle up beside me and trust me to protect them from the loud noises and bright lights.

Mercy has learned to love the sights and sounds of this holiday much earlier than her brothers did. She watched attentively the entire night and especially enjoyed the sparklers, at least as long as Mom was near.

And while they aren't our own, I love this picture of the Roberts family. We often meet up with Kjirstin and her cute girls for free lunch at the park and we'll miss them when they move later this month.