happy 4th!!!

This year we went to my parent's house to enjoy Independence Day. We started out the day by going to the parade in the town I grew up in. They always do a fun 4th of July celebration, so the parade is always a must with the kids!

After the parade, we went to my parent's house where my Dad put his Father's Day gift to practice: his dutch oven cookers. He did a wonderful job! The food tasted so good! He cooked barbeque chicken, potatoes, and peach cobbler. Along with some other sides, it was a killer meal!

The kids did the sprinkler thing while he cooked. (K-man was taking his nap...)

While we were relaxing after lunch, we had a big scare with the four-wheeler. My Dad was taking the kids for a ride around the yard. My niece was sitting in front of my Dad, who was in the process of turning, and got her thigh lodged between the seat and the gas. Her thigh was pushing on the gas. My dad tried to get her leg dislodged but couldn't do it in time and they hit the side of the house. The rest of us in the house heard the loud thud and came running out, panicked and terrified, to see what had happened. We came out and the kids were screaming and crying.

Thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, the kids were all okay. Where they had been in the process of turning, they hit the house parallel with the four-wheeler. My Dad had stuck out his hand to try and stop some of the force of the hit. His hand landed on the window seal which cut his hand open pretty good. He also hit his elbow which was all sorts of bruised and swollen. Besides a trip to the emergency room for him, and a swollen lip for K-man, every one else was okay.

We realize this could have been much, much worse. So thankful there were no major injuries. Unfortunately, the four-wheeler was damaged. However, we'll take damage on the four-wheeler any day over a person. I remember a quote from Sister Hinckley that went something like, "If money can fix it, it isn't a problem." How true that is.

Jake and I left early with baby J to head home and get ready for her baby blessing. I think we caught all the firework shows in northern Utah from the freeway on the way home. We left M with my parents the rest of the weekend.

It was a wonderful day! I am so thankful to be an American!