We all did enjoy ourselves, except for the heat!
My daughter explained the care, to my grand-daughter the first time she laid her fiddle on the floor. She said it was an instrument to be played, but she had to take very good care of it, always putting back in the case when she was through. She told her someone could step on it and then it would play no more. She listens and so far, minds very well. She has been telling us she was going to play at old Momo's house when we had the 'party'-lol

Thank you, she's watching what her mom does,I guess how she plays.
Were you able to find little Gus in the last photo?-lol

Yes, we have had some good times over the years. It has been so hot we sit huge fans up, but we jokingly said, we need to have our July4th 😅in April😉

If anyone goes hungry, it's because they just didn't eat! There was more than enough food. Sandra the only people that were here that wasn't a child, grandchild or great grandchildren of my inlaws were a 93 year old aunt of my husbands and her son& daughter-in-law. I really need to do a head count of the kids as well. It should be well over 100 I'm sure.

We got a little shower late in the day but it was so hot, we needed a little cooling off. Hope your 4 th was good too, thanks.

I'm glad you enjoyed celebrating with us, even if it was only in photos. Please accept my condolences about the loss of your husband. I'm sorry too your family doesn't live close for you to visit. All three of my children only live no more than 15 minutes away.

I think so Carolyn but sure was exhausted at end of it all!

Thank you very much Maria, but we will get together again New Years. We won't BBQ, but we will have food and music, at the old homestead.
My husband had 5 brothers and 6 sisters. The oldest will be 90 this month and the youngest is almost 66. We all have kids and grandkids. A few have great- grands. So we don't get together for Christmas but wait until New Year.
I'm glad you enjoyed my post and thank you for commenting too.

It's funny you compared it to a church social, but that's about the size of it! The women mostly get to visit and catch up on each other after lunch. The men usually play horseshoes. A few times my SIL rented a water slide blowup for the kids to cool off, but not this year.

It was nice. It's a lot of work for us, so the next get together will be easier. It's in the winter, New Years.

Are you from a large family, too, Lillian? I only had 2 sisters but he has 11 siblings! My youngest always liked family re-unions with my family or with my DH's aunt/uncles. My other two kids, not so much, so Ashley really knows more of the older relatives than my older two do.
In these photos though, its just his siblings and their families. It's a bunch of us, alright!

I must say, I used to be so bashful, when DH brought me to meet the family. I like to never got straight, who is who. He had siblings, my parents age, and I used to call them Mr. so-in-so or Mrs so-in-so. DH would laugh at me and tell me to call them by their first name, they were his sisters and brothers. That was hard to get used too.

lol-try hugging & kissing them all goodbye!-lol-Dh's cousin that brought his 93 year old mother, really enjoyed himself. He only had 1 brother, so to be with all his old cousins for the day, was a real treat, he said.

Thanks Shirley, she a doll for sure! She only lives about 5 miles away, but I doubt she made it home, before falling asleep. She ran around and played all day with the other children.

It was nice, thank you.

It was all good, I'm sure. You can't try everything or you'd be stuffed! We had BBQ pork and chicken, sausage, too. There were fresh snap beans& potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber, 6 potato salads, 2 pasta salads, 4 or 5 baked beans. There was a dish that tasted like stuffed baked potatoes that was really good.It had real bacon, green onions and cheese. It's in the long pan in photo 3, by someone with a neon yellow shirt on.There were a couple of dirty rice or rice dressings too.We had about 6 different cakes and its funny, not one repeated, even though no one knew what the other was bringing. There were pies, banana pudding, cupcakes and that coconut desert with the cherries on top. A sister-in-law said how good it was. I know there was a few dishes I missed, but we all had plenty to eat for sure.

Yes, I know we will too, as we have asked that the younger ones take over, but no volunteers. Everyone likes to come, but they don't realize the work involved, or they're too busy, etc.
We are included in the few that prepare and organize, but the few that do, range in age 65-80. My husband cut the wood for the BBQ pit and hauled it one day, by himself, then got sick afterwards, because he got too hot. My son and grandson went back with him to get the rest of the wood when they heard and both of them are highly allergic to poison ivy/oak. That usually means a doctor bill for them. Luckily not this time.
I pick up all the supplies like plates,utensils,napkins,towels, foil, seasonings for the meat. An 80 year old brother picks up the meats and brings them the day before. There are about 6 of us that prepare and season the meat. Then my dh and him load it and store it in a meat cooler, until the next morning. We count adults the next day and divide the number by the cost of the supplies and meats. We don't count children but a family of say 5, with 3 kids under twelve, eat two meals for around $12 total ($6 each). Where else can you eat for that, please tell me? That way no one has to be out a big cost and no one minds paying like this. If you break it down, its about $3 a meal and I don't know if you could eat at Burger King or Mc D's, for that!-lol

I'll ask my husband if he wants to adopt you!-lol-He did want us, at one time, to foster children, but I think you are probably over 18 by now-lol
I'm from the south and Ala is South! Glad you like our 4th get-together!