4th of July

Hosting your family at your house is a beautiful thing.....but it sure makes you tired and leaves a lot of towels and sheets to be washed! :)

We hosted all of my (Becca's) family over the weekend. Some arrived as early as Thursday. And the house was hoppin' until Sunday evening.

Here's some things to note about our gathering:

- I got to pass a heap of my maternity clothes onto my sister-in-law as we anticipate the newest Strahm in December! So glad I'm not needing those clothes for awhile again!

- Our boys were in their first automobile accident. It occurred in our driveway going at about .5 mph. Obviously, everyone was fine......except the windshield wiper fluid tank in Phil/Michelle's car. Oy.

- We celebrated Tate's birthday a little early with my family. He'll be 1 on the 14th of this month. Not a ton of fanfare, but we sang, let him eat a cupcake, and he opened a few gifts.

- I still get surprised everytime I've seen my father in the last year or so. He has a beard. He never had a beard while I was growing up. Looks good on you dad....just surprises me.
- My brother Dan and his family arrived in one of his company's motorhomes, pulling a trailer, with a bobcat (machinery, not the animal) on it. He was doing some "testing."

- We also had my aunt and a few cousins of mine from my dad's side come on Saturday. Always fun to get to see them. Plus, my uncle, who is currently in Sierra Leone, called to wish us a happy 4th as he didn't want to totally miss out on the gathering!

- The big pool and the little pool were both enjoyed a lot over the weekend. It was perfect weather - hot and sunny!

- We saw a very impressive fireworks show on Saturday night at some friend's house. Their neighbors do an incredible show! I think all of us agreed that it was the BEST show we've ever seen! (Illegal?.....well, I suppose) It was the first time either of our boys had watched fireworks and I wasn't sure how they would do. Tate fell asleep. Landon wanted Adam's hands over his ears the whole time, but he still seemed to like them.

- We managed to get 14 people to church on Sunday morning. We were even quite EARLY!

Overall, it was a great weekend and we were glad everyone was able to make the trip! Just makes us wish we could do it more often!