Monday, July 6, 2009

Independence Weekend Fun

There are 5 boys in Andrew's family. The youngest, Peter, has Downs Syndrome. While there are many things Peter enjoys, he absolutely LOVES when all of his brothers are together. This happens at least twice a year, and when it does, Peter walks around with the most gleeful smile you could possibly imagine. To put it mildly, Peter is in "brother heaven".

One of these get-togethers typically falls on the 4th of July. I'm not sure when this tradition started, but it has evolved into something I really look forward to each year. There is a neighborhood block party, parade, pool party, slip-in-slide (for the kids) and LOTS of great food. Best of all, my children are in "cousin heaven". With 15 of them, how could they not be?

The block party and parade take place in Andrew's brother (Grant) and parent's neighborhood (they live in the same neighborhood, just a few blocks apart). And now, in about 2 weeks it should be our neighborhood as well. That's right, we finally have found a house. If we get to settlement without any glitches, we'll be moving to the street behind my in-laws...more to come on that later.






A few of the cousins (below) with their "slip and slide" game faces. Obviously they take this very seriously.


4 comments:

Maren Hansen said...

Aw, look how happy Petey is! And Afton is growing up so fast and even prettier than last I saw her... :)

Amanda said...

Congrats on finding a house! Hope all goes smooth. Where is the house located?

Jack, Merry & T-Man said...

You guys are all so cute and patriotic! I love the picture of Peter. Luke looks like he takes his freedom seriously!

Mrs. David Hankins said...

Jess, your family is beautiful!! Congrats on the house! Thanks for initiating the reunion thing ;)