happy 4th!

This year, with the Fourth of July landing on a Sunday...we had 2 celebrations. Okay, that's not really true.

With so much family in town visiting and returning from various vacations and whatnot...we thought it a good excuse to get together twice!

SO, here goes.

Saturday, the 3rd, we all got together at Airi's house for a BBQ dinner.

Here's my mom with waaaaaay too many kids on the trampoline.

And NO. This isn't even all the grand kids.

While trying to take pictures of the kids jumping on the trampoline...this kid kept jumping in front of the camera.

I figure, he's cute enough! So I indulged him and snapped a few head shots.

=)

My mom with Kela and Seina.
Awww...everyone loves Obachan!

Somehow...amidst all the BBQ-ing and trampoline jumping, Jolee wandered into the girls' room.

And proceeded to play Goldilocks.


I think she found the Baby Bear's bed.


And here's my parents with Mitch's parents.
I can't even remember the last time all four of them got together...maybe our wedding?! Either way, it was a nice reunion. And one of the reasons why we planned the BBQ for this night.
I mean, who knows when this will happen again?!

~*~*~*~*~

Then...fast forward to Sunday night.

We had a simple potluck dinner with family.

Surprise of all surprises...Jolee actually let my dad hold her!
Those of you who don't know Jolee probably don't realize, but this is quite a momentous moment.

Hence the picture.

Then, after dinner it was time for the fireworks!

And wouldn't you know it...being a family of non-smokers, we realized that NONE of us had a lighter or matches.

Luckily for us, however...we are a family of SCOUTERS!

Who's brilliant idea, I can't quite recall (okay, that's a lie. It was totally MY idea!), Jonas busted out his magnesium flint stick and channeled Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild!!

Who says T.V isn't educational?

Here's a proud looking Jonas. Just after getting the fire lit.

A few short moments later...it was a nice big blaze!

That stump you see in the left side of the picture?

All that's left is a pile of charcoal!

So ... please support your local Boy Scouts of America chapter!

You never know when those survival skills will come in handy!

While the fireworks were popping outside...the little ones were less than amused. They were much more interested in the fishies in Airi's fish tank.
And with all the smoke billowing around, I was glad to have an excuse to stay indoors with the kiddos!

And then...the Grand Finale of the evening was getting to see the Waikiki fireworks from Airi's living room window! While some of the "older" kids and adults nearly gave me a heart attack by climbing onto the roof to check out the 'works...I enjoyed them from the comforts of the living room couch.

How cool is that?!

Fireworks without having to deal with the crowds, or the parking, or even the hard ground to sit on?

PRICELESS!



Hope everyone had a fun and safe Fourth of July!!!