4th of July!

Every 3 years the Moffats have their family reunion, and instead of it being over Thanksgiving, this year it was  in Orange, California over the 4th of July (major upgrade!)  (The holiday season is crazy enough as it is, am I right?)  We are so, so happy and grateful we were able to be a part of it this year.

There are lots of little cousins near Jasper's age.  Jake's dad, Parker, is the second oldest in the family so Jasper should have lots of new little cousins coming in future years.  (One who is due later this month...we're so excited, Cammy!)

This is little Colette Rhodes, Tyler and Brittany's daughter, who is about 2 months older than Jasper.

And this was our poster.  In case you were confused about whose reunion this was, since this church building was hopping with parties besides ours (sarcasm.)  But isn't that a lovely banner?  And good thing, cause it went with us everywhere--to the beach, to the neighborhood parade, ensuring that nobody missed us.

And cool reunion t-shirts to boot!  In case the poster was not enough, we had these also to announce that yes, we are here, and we are the Moffats!  I think they look pretty snazzy in the pictures, huh?  Peg totally nailed our sizes.

There are the show runners! Different family members take turns planning each time, and this time it was Peg and Parker's turn.  They did SUCH a good job!  The hotel was beautiful and it came with a free, hot breakfast every morning.  And we enjoyed the hot tub nearly every night!  This reunion was about as close to perfection as they come.  Just the right amount of everything.

Giant signs & T-shirts = Magic Moffat combo

I wasn't kidding when I called this a neighborhood parade. This is a small residential street, and there we are in our full-awning glory!  We are awesome!!

Jacob introducing Jasper to parade candy.  I love these two.

Handsome American boys.

Beauty Pageants in the parade!  Because that's also very American!

Four of the seven Moffat siblings: Marty, Roger, Mindy, and MerryAnn.  

Look at all those cute kids. This Moffat family is big (and getting bigger,) but somehow everyone is easy going and fun to be around.  No drama, just a good time!  I love these people.  I was really looking forward to this reunion and it was better than I had hoped. 

After the parade, we went to a darling neighborhood carnival.  The whole thing was really small town and adorable, just how you want to spend the 4th of July. 

This is how we partied-hardy the whole week.  Jasper was a trooper to sleep at the church, the hotel, wherever we plopped him.  Love that kid.

And there were a couple of late nights for him, too.  Which he LOVED. I feel like Jasper is already the class clown/life of the party.  He outparties ME!  Here we are on Balboa Island, getting frozen bananas, a Moffat tradition.

I'm so grateful we could spend this special holiday with so many of the people we love.  Family is so important.  This was a much-needed vacation for our little family, too--a nice time to really be together and focus on being together.  Seeing this picture is really sweet for me.  It's been a tough year, but whatever life throws us, we're still a family. This week was such a gift. Thanks, Moffats, for the memories!