4th of July

Our 4th of July celebration was spent with family and friends in Henrieville.
We had a Thompson family reunion with all the aunts, uncles and cousins together there during the weekend.
We started the day with a small town parade where everyone gets to participate. Bikes, 4-wheelers, strollers, lawn mowers, horses, and more were the mode of transportation through town. Pets were included too (Grandpa took Scoob with him on his little tractor)!
The town fire truck leads the parade on a square block route that is long enough to enjoy, but short enough for the little ones to run along and not be left behind.
Small town parades are the BEST!

(Aleah)

(Aiden, riding with cousin Hannah, Aunt Heather & Aunt Savannah)


(Parker, riding on the back of Grandma's mower, driven by Isaac)


(Zach, after riding his bike in the parade)


(Most of the cousins, after participating in the parade)



After the parade comes the races, bake sale and bounce houses.
It's usually the kids that run the races. But adults are not excluded!

(It looks like a Thompson family race!)
Way to go James!!!)

(Ian & Parker partnered up for the 3-legged race)


(CC & Zach partnered up for the 3-legged race)


(CC and Zach actually won by a hair)


The day ended with sparklers, then the BIG fireworks.
Though I didn't get any pictures of them (the mortars), the Thompson's provided a firework show for the whole town!



The day began & ended well. (Thank goodness for happy endings!)
The middle, though was scary, traumatic, confusing ....
I was definitely too busy to get any pictures!
Without too much detail, Aiden had his first (and hopefully last) ride on an ambulance. He scared us all when he suddenly stopped breathing. Thanks to some fast action by many family members, and answered prayers, he quickly & fully recovered.