Hinton Family Reunion, Tuesday, July 4

 Tuesday, July 4th was a great day.

We are so grateful for our country.

The day started early with a hike. 

Ken and I were in charge of breakfast: eggs, toast, and fruit.

After breakfast, everyone went to a nearby park.

After lunch, we colored and decorated placemats.  Ken and I were in charge of the service project.  Later in the afternoon, we went to a nearby assisted living facility to sing and set their tables with our decorated placemats.

We sang our theme song- The Miracle and God Bless America in two different buildings.

The people were so appreciative.  After we got home, we got a lovely thank you note in which many of the residents thanked us, telling us how much it meant to them.

The back stairs came equipped with a slide.  The kids wanted to show me how it worked.  I guess the landing was a bit rough!

Our handsome boys in blue.

Dinner was yummy.

After devotional by Caleb and Lily, I asked the kids if we could go outside and take a picture of them in order of their birth.

Brielle, Nathan, Gabriella, Caleb, Jacob, Lily, Jaron, Audrey, Hannah, Kenneth, Samuel, Gabe, William, Elisabeth

Hugs for Grandma

Next was another of my favorite parts of the reunion every year:  the family dance.  The home did have a dance studio upstairs, but it was too small and very noisy.  We decided to take it down to the larger, quieter family room.

Brian prepared a perfect playlist.  Everyone had a blast!

Close to You.

Gabe injured his toe.  Mom and Aunts got him fixed up.  I was sitting by him.  When they got done, he looked up at me with big tears streaming down his face.  "Does it hurt?"  No, he thought he had missed the whole dance because it took awhile to fix it.  "I want to dance more," he said.  We reassured him that the dance was not over.

He was so happy to get right out dancing again.

I know I am posting a ridiculous number of pictures of the dance.  But I love them all!

The macarena

Lisi had a blast.  But pretty soon she came to her mom and said, "I need to go to bed."

It looks like Sammy is ready for bed, too.  Lisi and Sammy usually go to bed at 7:00.  They were tired.

I love how cousins dance together, brothers and sisters, moms and dads, Dads and daughters, Moms and Sons, etc.  It is just such a fun atmosphere.

I love that it gives them a safe environment to learn how to dance and have fun.

The family dance is the perfect way to end a marvelous reunion.  Some of the older kids and adults went up on the hill later to watch the fireworks.  

Thank you so much Shonna and Blake for planning a magnificent reunion.  And thank you everyone for coming!!!  And a special thanks to anyone who read all of these posts!!