We spent the morning at Grandpa Hochstein's house. Dalan and Brilyn were so excited to play with the dogs Duke and Josie. Jayen, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with either one of them. His terror level decreased when the dogs were in their kennels but this left Brilyn and Dalan only playing with them through little holes in their kennel. That is until they realized they could join Duke in his! They had a blast playing with him.
St. Helena was having their annual Independence Day celebrations so we gathered everyone up and met up for dinner at the church hall. The lines were long but the company was plentiful. We were able to have dinner with 18 family members and say hi to many more family and friends. The kids played and joked while the parents had a second to talk and catch up. The giggles and smiles, laughter and jokes were heart filling for all of us. Time is precious and I will take every second I can get with these crazy people.
After dinner we went to the baseball fields and played Uncle Tom's Plinko game and many other games. The kids were running back and forth with their cousins. I didn't have to worry about them. I didn't have to look over my shoulder every second or keep them in my line of sight. I know I can't be naïve and think bad things don't happen in small towns, but when everyone knows everyone they help look out for the other ones. I loved that freedom. I love the freedom that gave my kids.
When the sun went down we found a spot to watch the fireworks. We made sure to be a little further away incase Jayen needed some time to adjust again. But I was so hopeful that after the third day of fireworks he would be confident and ready for them. The girls were giggling and laughing in the back of the pickup while the boys were rolling their eyes and egging them on. It did take Jayen a little bit to warm up. He wasn't so excited about them being that close to him or that big. Uncle Lucas and Huntley even shared their headphones with him so the noise wasn't an issue. It may have taken a little bit but in the end I think we all enjoyed the fireworks.
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| We even found some Arizona friends! Owen and Ruby were staying with their Grandma and Grandpa so we got to see them in Nebraska instead of Arizona. |
The evening (day too) was perfect; family, friends, food and fireworks. I truly couldn't ask for anything more.
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