4th of July 2015

It's no secret that the best place on earth to celebrate the 4th of July is in Arimo, Idaho. At least that's what I believe. I've been there pretty much every year since I can remember and to me that place is magic.

This year the cousins took charge of the events and made the 4th celebration into the first Keith & Jean Anderson Family Reunion. It made the whole weekend extra special. My brother Seth designed a logo for the event and made each of us a shirt. Irene planned water games for the family Olympics and we actually designed and created a float for the town parade. I have to give a huge shout out to my Auntie Kathy and Gram for letting us take over their houses and yards for the weekend too. 

Get your scrolling finger ready because there are a LOT of pictures from the weekend. 

Things got started Friday night with a weenie roast and stories around the fire. There were a few impromptu skits and lots of trying to keep babies out of the fire pit.

The love that this family has for our grandmother is profound. She is such an interesting lady and so young at heart. I loved watching her interact with her grand and great-grandkids and tried to capture a few of those moments.

^^ Camille helping fan the smoke away from Gram^^

I preparation for the holiday my brother asked me to crochet him some festive shorts. I somehow figured out how to make them and they were a huge hit. He wore them all night Friday and the whole day Saturday too.

^^Invisible Bench Skit by Autumn and Evan with a cameo by Keith^^

^^Auntie Kathy's New Pet Skit^^

^^Miles is SO over our crazy antics^^

Gram began telling stories about her family history, something we all quieted down and listened to. She has seen so much in her lifetime and has had such great adventures. We learned a lot about her and also my Grandpa Keith's younger lives. It became so clear to me why we as their family are so important to them. I realized why we get together every year in a little podunk town in the middle of nowhere to be together.

As the sun began to sink behind the mountains the ukulele and guitar came out for a little jam session. Have you ever seen such a glorious sunset!

^^The kids watched movies on the side of the garage until late in the night^^

The 4th

We had the traditional Fireman's Breakfast in the park bright and early on the 4th. It was already getting hot by 7:30 AM and it just got hotter and hotter as they day went on.

^^Shorts!^^

Our parade float was themed "Bursting in Air" and naturally was covered in fireworks. If you know anything about my family it's that we love fireworks and burning things. In fact, the police had been at my grandma's just the evening before telling us that our giant fireworks were illegal and we needed to stop shooting them off. If the cops or the fire department show up at a family party you know it's been a success!

I have to say, I was pretty proud of our float. When the grand kids were little my Gram used to put so much time and energy into making a themed float with all of us in coordinated outfits. It's been years since we've done that now. Mostly we panic about half an hour before the parade starts and throw the I heart Arimo sign and some patriotic streamers on Grams car and let her drive the parade route. This year though, we pulled out all the stops!

^^Gram riding as the Matron of Honor on the float^^

One of the things I love most about the Arimo Parade is that you can enter almost anything you want into the parade. Vintage John Deer? Heck yes!

Cheerleaders on a car trailer? Oh yeah!

A bike you decorated with crate paper? You'd better believe it!

Tiny pony and a cart? Why not!

Horses or even a mermaid? Sounds great!

After the parade we all hang out in the driveway and eat popsicles because 'Merica!

Then we tried to get everyone together for a family picture. After about 15 minutes of this:

We finally got a few really great ones

I wish I could figure out how to make a higher quality gif of this series but the flag waving in the background is pretty cool anyway.

One thing I always connect with summer at the grandparent's house is hollyhock dolls. My grandpa used to help us pick hollyhock flowers and dig toothpicks out of the kitchen to make these clever little dolls. I love that Gram is teaching the next generation this fine art form as well.

The Olympics

After lunch, some lounging in the shade, a softball game at the park and putting Mentos into endless bottles of Diet Coke we divided into teams for the family Olympics.

Don't mess

^^Team Red^^

^^Team Blue^^

^^Team White^^

Many of the games involved hauling children around with various amounts of water from one bucket to fill another bucket. There were a few close calls, some possible cheating scandals and many, many buckets of water thrown.

The final showdown was on the slip and slide. I don't even know what the point of this game was but it was sure fun to watch!

^^ I love this picture for so many reasons...^^

In the end the BLUE TEAM WON!!! Thomas and I were part of that team and although we couldn't help too much (my being pregnant and Thomas recovering from appendix surgery) we fully intend to use our bragging rights all year!

^^Gram watching from her deck like, "What are these crazy people doing in my front yard??"

Our normal water fight antics followed the victory of the Blue Team including assaulting anyone who dared to pass by the house. The neighbors down the street hooked up every house they had and came charging down the street at us. We've attached them on an annual basis for quite a few years...

It was so hot out, everyone was finding a way to cool down. Some classier than others. Actually, none of them were classy.

After everyone dried off a bunch of the family had to leave to go back to their homes and jobs but a few of us stuck around for the rest of the weekend. We drove up to Lava Hot Springs for the fireworks, stayed up way too late and went to church with Gram on Sunday. I always get really sad when we have to leave Arimo and all the family magic behind. I can't wait until we can take our little baby there and teach him all about this place!