Family Fun on the First of July

We spent yesterday afternoon up at my cousin's home, just a ways north from here. Actually, he and his family live only a mile or so from the very first house Bill and I owned (which we drove by and showed to the boys on the way). It is a quieter, more rural area - and, driving around the old familiar roads, we were surprised to find we missed our old stomping grounds!

Well, my cousin, his wife and their lovely daughters host an annual Fourth of July party, and since we had to miss it last year, we were especially eager to make it up this year. It was so much fun! I took lots of pictures that I'd like to share ...

They have SUCH beautiful grounds; everywhere you turned there was something lovely to see ~ a pretty flower or a charming spot:

Or a lovely view:

Of course, for the kids it was mostly all about the giant moonhouse:

And the pool:

Though it was really too chilly to swim, the pool was still a hit. Earlybird spent a lot of time fishing around with the pool toys and adding bits of ice from the cooler.

At one point, Bookworm fashioned a glass jar into a makeshift "seascope" but it dropped to the bottom of the pool. A rescue effort was immediately put into action ...

Meanwhile, EB found his way inside to the playroom:

It didn't bother him a bit that these toys were all pink, lol! They were really good toys!

The children were also thrilled to meet the neighbor's horse:

And by thrilled I mean, squealing and high-tailing it over to the fence. :)

Isn't he handsome?

Now here was "the hit" for me:

This birdhouse held a tiny brood of baby sparrows - their tireless mother came and went, supplying her little squawkers with bits of this and that:

Here she is arriving at long last with something good for her babies.

But they weren't satisfied for long! Aren't they sweet?

And all the while I was snapping away, there was a handsome butterfly flitting around nearby:

And finally he rested! I hardly ever get a butterfly picture so I was thrilled to see this Little Wood Satyr resting so peacefully on the foliage.

Now I didn't even mention all the wonderful food (tons and tons), the lovely decorations and of course, how great it was to visit with family we haven't seen in so long! It was such a fun day ~ a great way to kick off the holiday week!

Well, hope your day is a good one ~ thank you for stopping by!