A Jam-Packed Fourth of July Weekend

We went to my parents' for the Fourth of July weekend. We went down a day early for a sad reason. My uncle, who had been struggling with his health for several years, passed away. Does it sound weird to say that I enjoyed his funeral? It really was a wonderful celebration of his life, his time of service to his country, and a wonderful reminder of the grace and love of our Savior. Ron knew the Lord and is now in Heaven where his body will not fail, and he will have no more pain. He is with Jesus and is experiencing unspeakable joy. The graveside service was a military tribute, and the three-volley salute, the playing of Taps on the trumpet, and the flag presentation were quite moving. We will all miss Ron, especially my aunt and my cousin and her family, but we can rejoice knowing that we will see him again in Heaven.

On Saturday, we had a picnic on Bays Mountain with our extended family. It was great seeing everyone. The kids played in the creek and on the playground. My cousin took some great pictures, and I hope to get some of them to post on the blog.

On Sunday we went to church and took Pierce and Madelyn to see Toy Story 3. We saw it in 3-D, and the kids didn't have too much trouble keeping the glasses on, but I personally don't think the 3-D aspect added much to the movie. The movie was really good, though, and I had to wipe away a few tears near the end. The funniest part was when Buzz started speaking Spanish, and I was just laughing and laughing. Madelyn kept asking, "What is he saying?". I realized I needed to read the subtitles to her. We had contemplated taking the kids to see fireworks, but since none of the fireworks displays started until 10, we opted to buy sparklers for the kids. They seemed to be fine with that. Oh, Mom and Dad bought Madelyn and Pierce Woody and Jesse dolls, and I'm not sure if they've put them down yet. Madelyn said, "Did you know that this is my favorite toy now?" I keep expecting Jesse or Woody to blink at me or something as I start to leave the room.

Monday we went to my cousin's to have lunch and swim. All three kids were exhausted and Pierce could hardly speak without crying as we packed up to leave. You know your kid is tired when he asks if it's nap time and immediately bursts into tears, swearing up and down that he's not tired.

JD and I came home with Isabel yesterday, and the big kids are staying with Mom and Dad for a few days. They went to Dollywood yesterday and are going back today. I hope they don't have too hard a time when they get back home. They are going to be used to non-stop entertainment.