Happy 4th!

The fourth of July is another one of my favorite holidays. Not only does it symbolize our independence but it also is a reminder to us that we are free to worship our God boldly, gather together as family and friends, move about as we please without fear. This is a priceless gift that I never want to take for granted.

My mother in law planned a wonderful celebration for this holiday. We gathered early in the day and left late. It was the perfect day for all our festivities.

The kids were given butterfly nets and net containers. They spent hours trying to catch them and of course, crickets too.

We played badminton, volleyball, jumped around in the sprinklers (well...not the adults, the well water was a bit chilly) while I hogged my new niece, Emma. She's a keeper :-) In a previous post, I mentioned that Aaron decided to play putt-putt golf billiard style. Well, today, he invented a new way to play badminton. I must say it was quite creative and effective. He went and got the butterfly net to use as his badminton racket. He was able to catch the birdies. Now hitting them back wasn't quite as efficient. He was having a great time though. You should have heard his laugh. It kind of sounded mischievous.

Tim, my brother in law, planned a hayride for us. The kids were so fascinated by the dogs that chased our hay wagon as we passed by the neighboring farms. I don't want to forget to mention the throwing of the hay as it also was a hit (with the kids, not necessarily with me). What could be more fun than trying to bury your Mom in the hay and her coming out beneath with hay in places that just weren't meant to store hay. It's kind of itchy! My mother in law lives on forty acres of beautiful country. Naturally, she's the one who hosts our holidays.

To end our wonderful family day, a bonfire along with s'more making and fireworks were the grand finale. Thank you, Dave, for being our willing fireworks ignitor.