4th o' July and Other Musings

My, oh my.  It has been a LOOOOOOONG time, hasn't it?  Let's just say that the stress of moving has had a delayed onset.  Because everything worked out so smoothly prior to the actual move, I kind of just assumed that the actual event itself wouldn't be that big of a deal either.  But I was wrong.  Forget about the week and a half of traveling by myself with all 5 kids {through 5 different states}, or the fact that we had no internet, cable, or furniture for almost 2 weeks -- the hardest part of the past month has been due to the unending upheaval of having boxes of stuff everywhere and the air of transition and chaos that comes along with it.  We've made some progress in unpacking, but the job is still incomplete and it's driving me a little batty.  Also driving me batty?  The kids.  Hahahaha.  They are most definitely absorbing the stress of the move and manifesting it each in their own special little ways.  Hahaha.  

But enough about that.  Before all the box commotion started, we spent a week in North Carolina with my little sister, Sarah, and her family.  It was lots of fun and my kids loved playing with their cousins.  Along with Sarah and co., we also had the fun of seeing my mom, Amy, Jacob, and Freddie who were there visiting as well.  On the 4th of July, I took my 3 older kids to a church Stake party that Sarah was in charge of.  {!!!}  I knew beforehand that it was a big deal and required a lot of work and effort on her part, but for whatever reason, I was NOT expecting the scale of this thing!  When we showed up, there were easily a thousand people there.  There were hamburgers, hot dogs, side dishes, desserts, TONS of games for the kids, live music in the gym provided by Chief Blue and his band {the church building is on the Catawba Indian Reservation in South Carolina}, and a firework display at the end.  It was major.  

Sophie and Eleanor

Amy, Grace, Ethan, and Sophie eating their grub.  We made the smart call and went for hot dogs which had virtually no line.

Meanwhile, all the rest of these people waited in line forever to get a hamburger.

I seriously could not believe how huge this gig was and how much effort and planning must have gone in to making it such a success!  Among all the stations to choose from, Sophie decided the watermelon eating contest was the place for her to start. Hahaha.  Unfortunately, she bowed out none too gracefully a couple of seconds into the contest after almost choking on the piece she was eating.  Poor little supermuppet.  I was a little concerned for a second that I needed to drop the camera and run over and give her the Heimlich maneuver, but thankfully, such drastic measures were not necessary.  After stepping away from the table, she finished eating her watermelon much more slowly and with no further incident.

Pre-choking.

Mid-choking.

Post-choking chowdown.

While Sophie was enjoying her festivities, Ethan was enjoying a little volleyball action and Grace was enjoying a climb on top of a doghouse.  Hahaha.  {It wasn't really a dog house, but I think she wanted to pretend it was.}

The last big attraction that caught their eyes before it was time to go was the face painting station.  After waiting in line for a LOOOONG time, they finally reached the front.

 

In the end, we decided to leave before the fireworks {and imminent rain} and took Amy and Eleanor with us while Sarah and Andrew stayed behind to make sure everything got cleaned up and put away at the end.  

{There's the knife -- tucked into the back of his pants.}

Miss 4th of July herself!  

All in all it was 4th of July to remember!  More cousin fun to come...