MTP 4th of July

Our 4th of July weekend was spent as it should be - with family. We went to Mt. Pleasant to spend the weekend with Ryan's parents and his brother's family. When Brent arrived, we all decided to set up tents for the backyard. It was a crazy idea, but the kids loved it. They had a great time playing in the tents as the sun was setting. Dezi's old friends from next door even came over to join the fun. DeeAnn and Earl got us food from the famous turkey bbq for the night. Ryan and I attempted to get the kids settled into bed while the cousins went to the drive in, but they still didn't get to sleep until past 10 or 11. For some reason, I felt super stomach sick and barely slept at all. I finally went in around 11:30 to sit on the couch. I didn't want to be stuck in a tent with the boys if I had to...you know. Aside from feeling sick the first night, the biggest challenge of the weekend was a schedule that included late nights, early mornings, and not much napping. Small kids + little sleep = crazy.

My only complaint about the 6am canons and sirens was that the pancake breakfast only started at 9am, leaving our tummies to grumble for 3 hours! Once we did make our way to breakfast at the park, it was fantastic. They even had a little fair, though it wasn't quite what we'd had in mind. It was a bit more mountain man than pioneer, with way too many animal skins for my taste. Thank goodness the pole climbing was awesome! Dezi did such a great job that he had to do it at Grandma's as well, though her poles weren't quite such an impressive height! Cai even got into the pole climbing action (perhaps I passed my jungle/palm tree climbing genes onto them?).

The parade was everything a small town parade should be. The kids' parade, which included participants such as the famed Blake, Justin, Katie, and yes, even Grandpa Sanders, was especially exciting. The candy, pirate ship, fire truck, National Guard, Eagle Scout and, of course, Beck's truck, were also staples. After some quiet time, we enjoyed some of Lily's cooking followed by an enthusiatic game of water balloon war.

Later that night, we celebrated Ryan's birthday with some cupcakes before making our way to the city park for fireworks. The rain had been drizzling on and off all night so we watched from inside the car most of the time. Still, the kids loved them anyways. Due to the rain, most of us chose to sleep inside, which meant better overall sleep.

The next morning meant goodbyes to the Dovers and the Sanders and church for the rest of us. I was happy to be able to be with Lily her first Sunday after being baptized. Before we left for home, I was able to spend some last moments with her talking about the gospel. She'd been searching the Christian options in China, but hadn't found anything that touched her heart. Even though her conversion happened very quickly, I think she found what she was hoping to find. Of course, I am biased, but I do believe that she has found the truth. It's been an amazing experience for our family that has helped us all, especially me, grow in my own faith.