Independence Day, Plowman Style

My family and I celebrated the 233rd birthday of the United States today, as Dave correctly noted, by blowing up a small piece of it.

Independence Day is one of those holidays that, for me, has lost a little bit of its luster over the years. Fireworks are not as big of a deal for me as they were when I was younger; I am content to sit back and let others indulge their pyromaniac tendencies and set things on fire. But my nieces and nephews absolutely adore the fireworks, and watching them squeal at the bright lights and loud noises is always the highlight for me. Today was no exception.

Our family shindig began in the early afternoon with us going to see a matinee screening of Disney/Pixar's new film, Up. I don't know how they do it, but Pixar somehow manages to top itself and make an even-better movie with each new project. It was both funny and touching, with astounding animation. A large part of the film is set in the Andes of South America, which made me more than a bit nostalgic for the good old days in Peru, I might add.

If you haven't been to see Up and are the least bit curious, I would highly recommend it.

After the movie concluded, we adjourned to Mike and Jana's home in Layton for a barbecue and family games. My cousin Scott and his family; their friends Celeste and Mark; and Mike's friend Jason and his family joined us there. In all, there were close to 40 people taking part in the hoopla.

One of the favorite games that most participated in is called "Ladders," during which players score points by throwing and wrapping cords, connected by plastic golf balls, around ladder rungs. It's hard to explain, but it looks something like this, as demonstrated here by my dad, Dave, and Steve:



As dusk approached, the fireworks - and there were many of them - came out in full force. Dallin contributed to the chaos by throwing snaps at people's feet.


The babies, 15-month-old Jackson and nine-month-old Kira, enjoyed themselves quite a bit.




Luke proudly carried around his glow stick.


Kylee and Jenna were among the crowd trying to catch the parachutes that were shot high into the sky.


A couple of the parachutes landed up on the roof.

Meanwhile, Dallin and McKenna (doing her Statue of Liberty imitation) were among those who carried around sparklers.



Last but not least, here are many members of the gang, in a sort of Lord of the Flies-esque tribute, doing their powwow dance (it's a family tradition):


God bless America - still the land of the free and the home of the brave.