Independence Day Fun

This year for the 4th of July we were invited to a get together at the home of a family in our ward. There were about 10 families there, so the kids had lots of friends to play with. Their house is across the street from a park, so it was the perfect set up for a party. The canopies and water activities were set up at the park, and we were close enough to the playground that the kids were able to go play on the toys without Daniel or I having to go with them. The bbq, sodas, food and bathrooms were just across the street, so we spent a lot of time going back and forth. It was fun to spend the afternoon eating yummy food and getting to know other families in the ward.

Happy 4th from the Dangerfield kids!! They sure are cute! :)

Yummy potato salad that Daniel made! 

This was how we found Alex most of the afternoon, with a cup/can/drink in his hands.

He ran around without a shirt, and wearing saggy shorts, most of the day. 

Having fun in the water.

That night, after coming home for a couple hours, we finally decided to go watch some fireworks. Erik, Lily and Drew really wanted to go, but Alex and Rose (and Drew) were really tired, so it was a hard decision. I also didn't want to go to the Thornton fireworks because I knew it would be crazy and crowded....not a great combination with Alex (he likes to wander off too much for my comfort). I also knew traffic would be crazy coming home afterwards. We decided to go over to Daniel's office because  we could sit in the parking lot and see Northglenn's fireworks about 2 or 3 blocks south. They block off the lot, so only employees are allowed in, which meant we didn't have to get there super early and traffic wasn't bad going home. We got there about an hour before the show started, so the kids did have to wait. This is always the hardest part. Next year we'll plan a bit better and take some games for the kids to play while waiting. The actual show only lasted 15-20 minutes and didn't have too many big fireworks. They had a lot of the fountain type fireworks. Not nearly as good as Broomfield's. As we drove home we were able to see the Broomfield and Thornton firework shows because they were still going on! Next year we'll definitely go to one of those shows. The kids had a good time though, but it sure made for a VERY long day!
 I love this country and the freedoms that we enjoy. I hope that as the kids get older we will be able to teach them about how lucky we really are and that we can help them realize how much we have to be grateful for.

Guess I need to do a better job of making sure sunscreen gets around the eyes.

Waiting......

Very tired after a long day. They all fell asleep quickly.