Our 1st July 4th and Madison Wisconsin

Our family had a very fun and eventful July 4th. We spent the morning at Lakeview Park for a ward celebration. We ate breakfast and watched the kids play in the park and on the splash pad.

Then we went home, had a little nap while the kids watched a movie, and got ready for a fishing trip to Columbus, Wisconsin. Columbus is about a 45 minute drive from Middleton. What took us to Columbus, Wisconsin you may ask? Fishing and fireworks.

The river we fished on was very beautiful. We had fun casting out our lines but unfortunately we only caught one fish. Our luck fishing in Wisconsin has been pretty poor thus far. But we enjoyed the scenery and family time all the same.

Following our fishing trip we drove back to Columbus and ordered pizza. Then we found a place in the Fireman's Park to watch the fireworks. Joel and I played on the blankets while Kris took Alyson, Kourtney, Ellary, and Keegan to a carnival in the park.

At dusk we watched the fireworks. Joel was intrigued at first and also afraid at times when the fireworks went boom. Keegan was excited to watch the fireworks. Ellary laughed and pointed out all of her favorite fireworks. She said she likes carnival rides but that fireworks are better. Funny kid! It made me think back to when we watched fireworks last. When I got thinking about it, it was 4 years ago in Grand Junction, Colorado with all of our family including Nana, Papa, Oma, Aunt Uta, Uncle Jim and my sister Renee and her family. Ellary was only a little over a year and Keegan hadn't been born yet. So as we sat in Fireman's Park it was as if 3 of the 7 people in our family were watching the fireworks for the first time.

Following the fireworks, we drove 45 minutes back home. All of the kids stayed awake except for Joel. What a great day and a fun way to celebrate the birth of our nation!