I wore a t-shirt this last 4th of July with the above statement. I think that pretty much sums up the point of celebrating our country's independence. Our little family had a great time for the holiday weekend. Chandler got to come home Thursday night and we had a little fireworks show with Tori, Brooklyn, Aubrey, and Amy. What is it with boys and matches, fire, fireworks, etc? I think it was more entertaining watching Chandler quickly light "flowers" and get out of the way than the fireworks themselves. Friday started kind of early with a great breakfast at mom's house. It's tradition to gather as much family and friends possible to enjoy homemade scones, and all the breakfast fixins'. Our group shrunk a little this year. I think we need to round up new (and possibly younger) blood to keep the fun tradition going. Of course the morning ended with the obligatory water fight. Chandler was soaked. Scott and I stayed relatively dry. One of these days the kids really need to plan a new way to drench my brother. He seems to be the center of the activity and remains pretty dry throughout. It's always fun to get the cousins together, they love to spend time with each other.
Scott and Chandler spent the afternoon with Uncle Mike at the golf course. Scott was able to relax a little while Chandler drove crazy on the golf cart. Later we cooled off by swimming for a bit at a neighbor's house. We love living close to the Carlisle's! They are so nice to let us enjoy the fruits of their labors. After a little BBQ we had more fireworks. I love to watch Scott do this kind of thing. It's a good balance for my "sometimes over the top safety at all times" attitude.
Of course, Chandler's best buddy, Sam, spent a lot of time with us this weekend enjoying the festivities. We capped off our adventures by going to one of Uncle Travis' races at Rocky Mountain Raceway. I've been there once before but it was a new experience for Scott, Chandler, and Sam. I'm glad we brought earplugs! It was great fun to cheer on Uncle Travis. He did really well in his races and he inspired Chandler to state he wants to race cars when he grows up. Scott said the same thing, but luckily he put in a quantifier that he won't do it until we're rich! Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we got home, and it was really difficult to be close to on time for 9 am church. I hope your holiday was as fun as ours!
I'm grateful to have the opportunity to live in this incredible country and know it all comes from God. What a blessing!
I don't think anyone who knows us would peg us to be a very "western" kind of family. But every once in a while it is great fun to observe and participate in a good, home town rodeo. Challey and Spencer invited us to go to the Draper Days rodeo this past Saturday. I think the motivation behind it was so Scott and Spencer and some other unnamed fool could attempt the crazy cow milking contest. I'm happy to say they didn't enter, but Chandler tried the Cash Calf and Stratton was tough enough for Mutton Bustin'. You'll have to see Challey's blog for the video on Stratton's adventure. We had a good time and I felt all kinds of American during the special flag presentation. Chandler was very excited about the Cash Calf. His goal was to get $4, I'm not sure how he arrived at that number but we applauded his enthusiasm. There were two groups of kids for this event, Chandler was with the bigger kids. I'm not sure how many there were, about 60, I'm guessing. If you ask Chandler, the number gets bigger each time he talks about it. There was one poor calf with
money attached in plastic baggys to a cover over its back. The whole thing took less than five minutes. Chandler was pretty tough but did say the calf stepped on his arm when he tried to trip its front legs. Needless to say, he didn't grab any cash but he had a good story to tell later! 
It seems there is always something fun to do as 
a family in the summer time! However, I don't know how to fit it all in. I'd love to make it to a Bees game this year, and I know Scott and Chandler want to see how the BMX action is happening.
I wore a t-shirt this last 4th of July with the above statement. I think that pretty much sums up the point of celebrating our country's independence. Our little family had a great time for the holiday weekend. Chandler got to come home Thursday night and we had a little fireworks show with Tori, Brooklyn, Aubrey, and Amy. What is it with boys and matches, fire, fireworks, etc? I think it was more entertaining watching Chandler quickly light "flowers" and get out of the way than the fireworks themselves. Friday started kind of early with a great breakfast at mom's house. It's tradition to gather as much family and friends possible to enjoy homemade scones, and all the breakfast fixins'. Our group shrunk a little this year. I think we need to round up new (and possibly younger) blood to keep the fun tradition going. Of course the morning ended with the obligatory water fight. Chandler was soaked. Scott and I stayed relatively dry. One of these days the kids really need to plan a new way to drench my brother. He seems to be the center of the activity and remains pretty dry throughout. It's always fun to get the cousins together, they love to spend time with each other.
I'm grateful to have the opportunity to live in this incredible country and know it all comes from God. What a blessing!
