A Sandstone 4th of July

Yesterday we spent the afternoon and evening at Mike and Lamiae's house. Mike was kept busy the first few hours by taking people on tours to see the cattle, look for agates, check on the beaver dam, and to marvel at the usefulness of a forest mulcher.

Matt and I went on the tour with Mom and Dad.

Lamiae and Mom

Mom and Matt

I'm amazed I got the kids to stop for one second so I could take a picture: Colin, Laura, Damon, Karl, and Luke

After the tours were over, and after we ate Lamiae's yummy sloppy joes and potato salad, it was off for a pontoon ride. It's quite a walk to get to the dock, so we drove there. All the kids piled on to the six-wheeler, with Josh at the wheel! Good thing Connie climbed in at the last minute to supervise! (Although Josh turned out to be a great driver!)

Karl and Colin out on Miller Lake

Laura with Grandma

It was the perfect evening for a boatride!

Mom, Laura, Connie, and Josh

Karl even got a chance to drive the pontoon!

After our boatride, we came back to the house for ice cream cake. Baby Justin was happy just to play with plastic cups.

At last, it was time for the fireworks! Here is a typical reaction from the kids. Every year, Mike's fireworks seem to get more elaborate, and this year's show did not disappoint! Between our fireworks, the neighbors' fireworks, and the Finlayson fireworks that we could see from where we were sitting, it was a very sparkly night!