How We Spent Our 4th of July Weekend Part 1: Family BBQ

Thursday July 3rd we headed up to my mom's for some family togetherness. Every year my mom has a BBQ in her backyard on the 3rd of July. After the BBQ we all walk up to the Eaglewood Golf Course to watch fireworks. It's such a huge tradition in my family that my mom would sooner have us miss Christmas than cancel her 3rd of July BBQ. My mom, nephew Alex, and sister, Jenn.
Collin and me with some of that togetherness I mentioned.

My cousin, Kelby, doing what she does best. Which is being Kelby. And really tan.

My nephew, Brayden, waiting for his doom. Within the space of about 5 minutes one of his brothers, Austin, was stung by a bee and the other, Carter, fell and split his lip open. This was the look on his face when we told him he was next. Luckily, his doom didn't include applying ice. It did, however, include icing after he sat on his peice of chocolate cake. Perhaps the most dramatic of the 3 brothers, Brayden cried the loudest and the longest. We love ya Bray!

My little sister, Jenn, and her little boy, Alex. Cutest little stinker! He would smile literally seconds before and after I took a picture of him. So this will have to do.

When we got to the fireworks we ran into some old friends, Stan and Mandy (and there 7 month old baby, John)! They used to live right next to Kevin and Megan (the house they just sold) and across the street from our old house (the house we sold almost 2 years ago). They moved away about 3 1/2 years ago, back when this ward only took up a row in the 8th Ward Relief Society.(It's true, we did used to only take up 1 row. Ask anyone who was there who still lives here. Jen, Gina, Megan, um, who else? That can't be it.)


And that, my friends, was how we spend July 3rd.