July Fourth Celebration Spectacular

Fun in the pool with her diving sticks.

Ayden eating icing from cake.

Ayden not wanting her picture taken.

My mom and Ayden. Ayden was mad because I took her picture.

Those of you that know my father know that he goes all out when he does something. From the RV he bought to go to my brother's four wheeler races, to his addition on his warehouse for his business. Even the swing set play equipment that he bought for Ayden was a bit above the norm. It looks like a community park playground with the two tons of recycled rubber tire mulch surrounding the entire play set.

Yesterday's cookout was no exception. All in all, by the time it was said and done there was probably a total of nearly 60 people in attendance. There were people in attendance from my mother and father's sides of the family. April's mom, dad, and brother even came over.

It lasted so long that most people there, were able to eat twice. Around noon then again around seven. The kids had a small blow up pool and, of course, the swing set to keep them occupied. The adults had the company of each other. Relatives that they had never seen, or at least not seen in 20 years. There was also several young kids and a baby to hold everyones' attention.

It was good to catch up with cousins, that when younger, were seen on at least a weekly basis, but who may now might only be seen once or twice a year. Yes, I know, it is really a shame. It is a bitch growing up and getting older, having kids and entering a career. Not that those things are bad. Just the fact that you lose touch with family that you may have seen so often when younger. But, we all must do it. I really enjoyed visiting with all of my relatives. It was more like a family reunion than just a simple cookout.

I met my cousin Lonnie's fiancee, Morgan, really for the first time. I had met her at Christmas dinner at our Grandmother's but never really had the chance to talk with her. I haven't really had the opportunity to have a good conversation with him or my cousin James for some time. The outside atmosphere is very open and conducive to these types of conversations. It was really nice to catch up. I also met one of my Grandfather's nephews and one of his nieces that I had never met. I find it interesting to meet family that I have never had the opportunity to converse with.

Ayden had a blast. We arrived early to help with the set up and get ready for the crowd. She had to get in the pool right away. She played in the pool for about and hour and then on her swing set. She played hard for a couple of hours before any of the other children showed up. Later in the evening when things started winding down, she finally took a nap.

April and I ran to the house with my cousin James and his wife, Stephanie. April had some maternity clothes that she was going to sale. Plus, I wanted to show them the house in case they would be interested in buying it. We left Kylee and Ayden with Pam and mom. Kylee was eating, boy that is a surprise. Ayden was trying really hard not to fall asleep. She was really tired. Kylee slept the entire day. Of course, there was no shortage of women there to hold and rock her. She was a very happy baby. And we were very happy parents. We returned and most people were still there and Ayden and Kylee were sound asleep.

Some neighbors started letting off fireworks. They weren't too pretty, just a lot of noise. They startled her and woke her up. This was about 10:00. We sat around and fed Kylee again and helped people load their coolers and dishes. Talked some more about the economy and children. By this time most people had left the festivities. My Grandma Violet announced that she was going to be making breakfast at nine the next morning due to the fact that family was visiting. I said I would probably pass in order to sleep in.

Hollie and Justin came back on their way home with the kids and stopped. We sat in the driveway and watched some other neighbor's fireworks show. It was a lot better than the earlier one. The kids liked it. April and I finally arrived home about midnight. Ayden was practically asleep by the time her head hit the pillow. She was a really good girl today. She played until she dropped. It was a really good time and went off really well. All the people there seemed to have a good time. Thanks mom and dad for another great Fourth of July.