July 4th

The 4th of July is always a celebration down at my parent's house. And now that my mom is the Activities person in their ward, we started the day off right....with a carnival! At 9am, the kids were eating cotton candy and brownies:
jumping in bounce houses:
and having way too much fun throwing sponges at their friends' faces. This was definitely the highlight. Chloe (Lucy's cousin) even wanted wanted a chance behind the Spongebob cutouts:
and so did her mom, Kam:
Lots of fun family were in town for the weekend. Camille, Mere, Rachael, and Kam:
semi-family picture:
Aunt Karen, Kam, and little Delilah:
cute Grandma/Grandbaby moment:
full-family picture:
Cameron (who is staying all summer for his internship at Ernst & Young), Adrian, and Meredith:
Rachael, chatting it up:
My mom, the best party organizer I know:
cute Billy Drew (Dad):
Owen, taking a break:
and cute cute cute Savanna. I just can't get enough of this little girl. She is such a beauty! (just like Rachael, her mom)
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That afternoon we had our traditional Home-Run Derby (Casey's favorite). Uncle Rich came up to bat and hit some good ones. He's a natural at any sport.
After pitching some rounds, Casey ended up batting it in for the win. Nice job Casey-at-the-bat.
The moms and kids sat on the sidelines cheering, watching, or climbing around. Mere is so sweet with Owen. You'll often find her holding or playing with him:
....or going for a cruise.....
and this is just the sweetest picture to me. Papa and Lucy, chilling in the dugout:
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After a good game of baseball, the payoff is always a trip to the pool.
The kids love these mini watering cans:
Chloe:
Nice red neck:
little Oboe (as Jeremy likes to call him).
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We got to see more of our niece Leah, who is such a cutie (and a sweet-mannered, angel baby)
She just hangs out:
sleeps:
and rarely cries.
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Our evening festivities started with the traditional shrimp boil. Yum:
The whole group of us:
My kids soaking up corn cobs again:
my cousin Jarond and his guitar:
Our good friends the Andres, Brian and Bonnie:
We desserted on popsicles and ice cream:
could Lucy's mouth look any nastier? (probably, it can)
and we finished it off with sparklers (left over from Eric and Laura's wedding!)
Lucy loved it.
Owen was impressed too.

Aunt Karen:

And some good Mere-in-action shots.....
Happy 4th to all! We truly love this country.