Independence Day, Part 1

This year's Independence Day festivities included two family parties, held (respectively) on the 3rd and 4th of July.

Sometimes, I have to pinch myself to remember on a daily basis that my family now includes a wife, parents-in-law, three brothers-in-law, three sisters-in-law, and seven additional nieces and nephews (niblings). And each one of them is a pretty amazing person.

On the 3rd, we assembled together at the parents-in-laws' home in West Bountiful for a BBQ and something I'd never tried before: axe throwing. Tyson showed us all how it was done:

. . . after which JB showed off her stuff and reminded me once again to never mess with her to the point of ever getting frustrated enough to throw an axe in my direction.

As for my own efforts, of which JB snapped some photos, I'll say that axe throwing is somewhat harder to do than it looks. But it's also a lot of fun. I found that the two-handed method works a lot better for me than trying to throw an axe right handed only. It helps explain why I woke up the next morning barely above to move because my muscles were so sore from the attempt.

To close out the evening, Spencer set up a movie screen in the backyard, and we watched the recent Spielberg movie Ready Player One in the Great Outdoors, with only the mosquitoes to keep us company.