July 4 Annual Family Reunion and Fireworks Bash

(Also known as Festivus). We had one of the best themes this year--Pirates! The kids got way into it. As usual, a great time was had by all, with cousins running everywhere, a hog on a spit, a "very reasonable amount of fireworks" (of which Zion and David lit off approximately half), a bonfire (and an unexpected bonfire when little David decided to save his punk for later and tossed it into the box with the fireworks),new babies, new pregnancies, t-shirts, cotton candy, and the best homemade food ever. It is a privilege to be surrounded by so much love and fun every year.

Happy Festivus 2009!

The 4th of July is truly my favorite holiday.

Festivus, continued...

Car Vs. Deer

We hit a large buck at about 10:30 Sunday night while coming home from our family reunion. The kids were both asleep, so they didn't share the trauma of seeing it appear suddenly on the highway, hit our front bumper, fly over the hood of our SUV, strike the windshield, and then collapse in the road. However, the impact did wake them up, especially the cooler that fell from our packed cargo area onto Zion's head. It was a frightening experience, but Sam's skillful driving and a lot of prayers for our safe return journey guided the car quietly to the shoulder. Amazingly, no one was hurt. The deer died,mercifully, when a second car hit it about a minute behind us. We feel lucky to be alive and unscathed. We had to leave our car in Burlington, Iowa, where it was towed. We are driving a Chevy Suburban in its place, courtesy of State Farm Insurance...it has been quite helpful with our move, although it eats gas horribly. A silver lining?

Family Pictures from Festivus

This is starting to become an annual tradition!