This year marked the 3rd annual Giacomarro 4th of July! The last two years we hung out in Linden, but this year we were at our new home! We had a great time and really appreciated everyone making a point of coming out for the weekend. We had a full house too — Min, Garin and Jess, Payton and Corinne, Oma and Oma, and Regine all came. People started arriving Thursday and everyone was there by Friday evening. Our soon-to-be neighbors Travis and Kristen came out one evening and Phillip and Brandy came by one afternoon to visit too! Regine brought her two dogs, Eeyore and Vixie, and Payton and Corinne brought Winston The Dog. Payton and Corinne even had t-shirts made for us! I can’t explain the typewriter though …
Saturday morning we all went out to Echo Springs Blueberry Farm to pick berries. The blackberries were a huge hit, especially with Payton and Regine! The berries weren’t as numerous as they’d been two weeks prior, but we were still able to find enough to tide us over and we all filled ourselves in the process. =)
Back at home, we had a big lunch and then enjoyed a plethora of activities. Keller, Garin and Payton ended up in a water balloon and water squirter fight. The kids played in the kiddie pool and popped many many water balloons …
… nearly everyone played a couple rounds of ladder golf, also a big hit
… we made s’mores one evening in our new fire pit and overall just enjoyed being together. The weather wasn’t too hot and the mosquitoes were minimal, so it was quite pleasant to be outside, especially in the evening. And Min brought BUBBLES! …
… we played board games and card games, puzzles, computer and VR games …
… there were naps indoors and in hammocks. Books, both for the kids and adults. And we all had plenty to eat. There was a little bit of something for everyone!
We also shot off fireworks! The guys handled all the pyrotechnics and shot them off from the driveway near the road. The rest of us sat up near the house and had a great view. The driveway gave them a flat, non-burnable place to shoot from and enabled rapid running as required. Travis brought another round of fireworks when they came, so two nights of fireworks was a lot of fun.
Overall, everyone had a great time! We are so thankful that this house makes it easy to entertain and host. We love that it is big enough for everyone to come stay comfortably and have room to spread out. We aren’t constantly on top of each other, which has worked out really nicely. Thank you to everyone who came out — same time, same place next year!
Great fun!