The Lee Family: Happy Fourth of July

We originally planned to fly up to Fort Collins, Colorado on Thursday morning but CK suggested that we go up on Wednesday night instead so we could enjoy the full four days. We ended up leaving Dallas around 5pm and made it to Fort Collins around 8pm. The flight went very smoothly and Sofia slept for nearly the entire flight while Olivia took a nap for about two hours. When we arrived, my cousin Jason picked us up and drove us to my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Eric's house, which happens to be right next to Jason and April's house. We visited with everyone for a bit before we walked over to Jason and April's house where we planned to sleep for the long weekend. Jason and April's sons, Hays (13) and Lincoln (5) stayed awake to see us arrive and their daughter Leah (11) was asleep in her room. When we arrived at Jason and April's house Leah woke up briefly to say "hi" and Sofia changed into her pjs and was in bed with her in about two minutes. Olivia was so overly tired that she couldn't settle down enough to close her eyes! She couldn't decide if she was going to sleep in Lincoln's room on the floor under his bunk bed or in our room. Finally we pulled the blow-up mattress into our room and got her to sleep around midnight!

On Thursday we finally got up and made our way over to my Aunt and Uncle's house where we had breakfast and caught up. My other cousin Chris, his wife and their 10-month old son Bryson were there too, so it was great to finally meet him. He just recently started walking and was so cute toddling around the house. Olivia wasn't so sure what to think about Bryson. She thought he was cute, especially from a distance but wasn't so sure about him once he was up close, especially near her toys! We hung out while Sofia and Leah played with Leah's American Girl dolls, swam and played together. Olivia ran around, jumped on the trampoline and tried to find the tortoise Myrtle.

We were all eagerly awaiting Aunt Shirl and Uncle Steve's arrival from Santa Fe and they finally made it around 4pm. Chris, who is quite the chef, cooked beef and chicken fajitas on the grill for all of us! It was delicious! Earlier that day, Chris, Jason and Uncle Eric picked up an entire pig which they planned to smoke in a pit they dug in their backyard. My Grandpa used to smoke pork and beef in a pit and my cousins were trying to replicate it. They lit the fire around 8pm and put the pig in around 11pm.

On Friday the 4th, we made our way to my Aunt and Uncle's house after a very restless night thanks to our little bedroom buddy, Olivia. We all walked over to the pit to check on the pit and Chris decided that he still needed to cook longer, so they outfitted a kind of grill on top of the pit where they placed the pig to continue roasting for several more hours. It was a pretty warm day, so the guys set up an outdoor tent and hung out while cooking the pig. They finally decided it was done around 2pm, so the guys worked on cutting it up! It was delicious! Chris also made two different kinds of BBQ sauce, which went perfectly with the pork! My Aunt Cathy also had baked beans, rolls, cole slaw, salad, corn bread and it was all delicious!

Before heading to watch fireworks, my Aunt made homemade strawberry and also pineapple ice cream! So delicious! Around 8:30pm we drove a short distance to a lake and parked on the side of the road to watch the fireworks show. We found a good spot where we all set up on a blanket and waited for the fireworks to begin. Fireworks were already started in the distance around us and finally the fireworks started. It was really pretty good other than the telephone poll that was right in the middle of our view. Otherwise it was a great fireworks display and a fun way to celebrate the 4th! We headed home and went to bed after a very fun day.

Olivia and Bryson playing together