4th of July with the Family

Our family is BIG on traditions and celebrating the holidays! The 4th of July is no exception. We had high hopes of this years festivities after last years bust of a celebration. I guess you could say our efforts in trying to sell our big house overshadowed everything last year and it was hard to have any fun. To make matters worse, last year, due to some major issues within our community organizers and massive delays we were unable to see the festival fireworks! Now, if you know me, I'm a stickler for fireworks on the 4th and parades at Christmas. So this year my husband went to great lengths to insure our family (or rather me, lol) got to see some fireworks.

Much to my delight we got to watch fireworks not once BUT twice this 4th of July week. We decided to attend the Independence Day Festival in a neighboring town which happened to throw the best fireworks experience I've EVER witnessed as an adult. It will truly be hard to top their fireworks extravaganza in the future! We were able to attend two festivals on account of one community hosting theirs the day before the 4th and the other on the 4th of July.

Our local community that we live in has an all day 4th of July festival beginning with a small parade and fun activities for the kids and concluding with fireworks later in the evening. We typically attend the morning activities, go home BBQ & rest, and then go back for the fireworks. Which is exactly what we did this year.

The first 4th of July festival we attended began with Jolly Rancher Bomb Pops courtesy of daddy who loves to spoil his littles with yummy treats!

 

The kids thought it was so neat that their 'watermelon' flavored popsicles looked like they had seeds inside of them.

The atmosphere was extremely laid back at the first festival. Throughout the evening there were two different amazing live bands performing. Everyone was relaxed and all the littles were running wild ~ there wasn't a stranger on the football field as we waited for the spectacular display of fireworks, which ended up being sinked with appropriate patriotic music. 

Day Two of Our 4th of July Celebrations

I have this picture and the one below it taken every year for many years now. It's fun to watch our family getting bigger and everyone growing up. 😊

I had no idea we were color-coordinated when we left house, lol. Can we say 20 years of marriage.

Lydia did not know what to think of all the animals at the petting zoo.
When the pig started squealing she was ready to leave, lol!

There's just something peculiar about a camel......lol!

My seven year old and 4 year old are ALWAYS all about the food ~ 

so this function we told them they could bring their own pocket money to spend on treats. 

Kettle corn and homemade lemonades were their prize selections.

This one was a sweetie and willingly shared his lemonade with his baby sister! 

(Got to relish in those little moment, lol)

I'm always the one behind the camera, so I had someone snap a picture of me and baby girl. And YES, it was hotter than blue-blazes and you could cut the humidity with a knife hence the lovely glistening of sweat, lol.

The kiddos take after their daddy when it comes to fair food and 

everyone had to get in on all the goodies ~ these three opted for snow cones.

This year was absolutely one of the best 4th of July celebrations our family has ever experienced. 

I took dozens of pictures and it was all I could do to narrow it down to these few 

(and I know I still over- posted). I'm grateful for the memories and the time spent with family, 

but mostly I'm grateful for the freedoms we celebrated this 4th of July.

I won't lie, navigating family functions with a large crew is NOT easy. There is non-stop unique dynamics that most families do not experience, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Nor would I opt to miss out on fun activities just because it's a little harder to make them happen. Thankfully, these two outings were minimal in the drama escapades, but that is rare. To be perfectly honest it's also a matter of perspective too. What most would consider major 'hiccups' is just our norm. So, if you're struggling with getting out there and doing things with your little entourage; it's time to take a leap of faith and just do it. Trust me the more you do it the easier it gets and if we can do it so can you!!

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer