Fun with Cousins (Yes, More on Utah)

On the 24th of July, the Johnsons had a fantastic party.  It was very fun and even included fireworks!  Everett and Ashley were just excited to play with their cousins (plus they have cool toys like princess dresses and legos) but the fireworks put the whole shebang over the top for them.  It was a great night and we are so happy we have such fun family members!

Thanks to my sister-in-law for the great pictures. 

William never had cheetos before this trip.  I think he's a fan!

It is an unofficial tradition to have a tetris tournament on the Xbox.  No, I didn't even come close to winning, but Joel earned his pride by winning pretty handily a few times.

The kids had a lot of fun staying up late and sitting in the cars for a firework show.

The really big aerial fireworks were legalized this year so we really were impressed (they are loud, too, when they are right over your head).

The small fireworks are fun as well.

And the kids got to use sparklers.  I explained how to be safe with them about fifty times but I was still panicking a little.

Fortunately there were not only no injuries, there were no close calls, either!

Another fun thing the kids did was participate in Grandma Camp.  Grandma Johnson has all the grandkids over to her house once a year for an overnight party.  The kids had a blast.  They played, stayed up late, ate good food, and the brave ones even camped outside.  Everett was the only camper who was younger than about 10, I think.  Ashley slept inside with the other girls as they watched a princess movie.

The next morning everyone played around and then went swimming at one of those pools with fountains and water slides.  They couldn't get enough of the water, except for Ashley who made sure she didn't ever get her face wet.

(Thanks to my sister-in-law Rachel for most of these pictures as well.)