Independence Day

We had a wonderful Fourth of July this year in Missouri, even without seeing fireworks.  We spent the day at Meramec Springs with my entire family. We grilled out, fed the fish and just let the kids run around and play together.  It as a super fun and relaxing day and pretty much everyone, including myself, was in a pretty good mood which always makes things a little more enjoyable.  We usually visit Meramec Springs every year, and I have to say, I really love that place.  Maybe it's because I remember going there when I was little, I'm not sure, but it just seems like the perfect picnic venue with it's beautiful scenery, quaint atmosphere, fish to feed and plenty of space for the kids to run and play.  I've uploaded way too many pictures in an entirely random order, but that's ok I suppose.   

 

 The after lunch watermelon break...no one wanted to cut the watermelon, so my dad took on the task. He cut them into gigantic pieces, but the kids didn't seem to mind. It was also an effective way to get almost all the kids in one spot at the same time. 

 My sweet niece Emrie.  She was so much bigger than when we had seen her before just after her birth. She was all smiles despite the heat and craziness going on around her.

 Just thought this was a cute picture of Kevin and Londyn. 

 My precious niece Natalie that I finally caught in a picture. She and her sister are rather hard to catch these days, and never too eager for me to take their picture. 

 The girls in front of the little waterfall. 

 The three musketeers trying to feed the fish.  These three are quite a trio, and it's so much fun to watch them play together. 

 The best picture to date of all the grandkids.....it's getting easier, but we just seem to keep multiplying.

 This is everyone standing around waiting to see if the raccoon was going to come out of the trash can.  They were trying to rescue him, but I don't think he wanted to be rescued. 

On this trip, this is where Lincoln's obsession with riding a horse started.  He got on this old iron horse and sat there forever. All the other kids had gone back up to the pavilion to eat, and Lincoln remained on that horse. He totally claimed it as his own, and even after we got him to get off, he talked about "his horse".  At one point, he stared down a couple of girls that got on it when he was taking a break.  It all went downhill from there. He didn't stop talking about horse riding for a long time.

So after our long, hot day, we all kind of opted out of fireworks which was entirely fine by me. I was exhausted from our previous traveling, and was eager to just take it easy and hang out at home.  Next year, will have to hit up a good fireworks show!