FUN ON THE FOURTH

Our 4th of July Celebrations are always a blast. We have lots of fun traditions (old and new) that we continue to do each year. In my family, there are 14 little kids (in Oregon) between my sisters, my cousins and I. The oldest is 8 and the youngest just recently turned 1. We start the festivities in the afternoon. I've been in charge of the games for the past few years and this year was the first time we were able to do them at our house. I planned 4 games for the kids to play and I split them up into 2 teams. The first game was an egg relay. They had to go a certain distance with their egg on a spoon without dropping it. They all did really well at this one, even the little ones. A couple eggs were dropped which they actually all thought was pretty funny. The other games were a balloon popping relay, water balloon toss and fill the milk carton. It's fun to watch the kids improve at the games each year. Even the little guys participated this year. After the games we all headed over to Jenny and Joel's where Stephanie and Chris put together our annual 4th of July Obstacle Course. All my cousins and sisters and I remember doing this every year growing up and our kids look forward to it every year. This makes for some pretty wet fun. Afterward we head to Marvin and Nancee's(my aunt and uncle)for swimming and BBQ. Most of the kids prepare a some kind of talent to perform at our annual "Talent Show"(also a tradition from my younger days). Spencer put on a Magic Show this year. After each talent my mom throws candy to the performer(s). This has been carried on from my sweet grandma "Deedee". She loved rewarding her grand kids when we would perform. Then it's time to get ready for fireworks! We've started doing this up in the colde sac in front of Marcee and Tim's. There's lots of space for the kids. Over the last couple years we've been having the kids decorate their bikes, scooters, etc. during the week before. They ride these around as a parade while waiting for it to get dark enough for sparklers. Sparklers are always so fun and can be a little dangerous. Kyle got a little burn on his finger but after we got him some ice he did alright. We ended the night with a great fireworks show. My grandpa "Baaba" has always gotten the fireworks as long as I can remember and he still does. He's awesome!! We hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day. Here's a special treat for all of you to watch. Stephanie, Chris, Tyler and Joel competing in the talent show against each other. Their talent..."Fluffy Bunny". Stuffing as many marshmallows in your mouth and saying "fluffy bunny" after each one. Steph won with 12 marshmallows!! Go Girl!