Happy Late 4th of July!

The 4th of July was fairly eventful for us as we spent our time going from one function to the next. It was a fun day though.
We decided to head off to the zoo so Makenzi could see all her favorite animals:

The Giraffes
The frogs
And the alligators (contrary to what you might think, this is not an albino alligator as his eyes and nostrils have pigment...it is an American alligator. You learn so much reading the little signs by the animals! hahaha)

Unfortunately about 45 minutes of being there the rain clouds came and so did the rain! It started off as a little drizzle but then it just started pouring! We caught a little break in the downpour and found a white tent to camp out under while we waited for the storm to pass. Makenzi made the best of it splashing around in the puddles:

Afterwards we attended a Resident/Fellow social for the Ophthalmology crew, which we go to every year on the 4th making this our 5th time attending! Jed assured his Attending that we would NOT be attending next year Ü It was fun meeting all the incoming residents and talking with a few of the Attendings that were there as we have gotten to know them and they have seen Makenzi grow from a newborn to infant to toddler! It was a fun time

Going from there we attended our Annual Branch 4th of July social at the branch building. Let me just say that I have never seen so much meat in my life! We had the best ribs, brisket, sausage and hamburgers ever! And of course all the side dishes to take up what little space was left on your plate after getting your meat! Here's just a few snapshots of everyone there. It was a good time:

Amanda and Keedan having a good time
Everyone enjoying the yummy food...
All the yummy side dishes...

After spending too much time at the branch social and the fate of the rest of our evening depending on 2 different colored paint strips (I suppose it was better than Paper/Rock/Scissors!), it was decided to forgo the firework show as we were kind of already late and parking would've been a disaster. Instead we invited the Malnar's and the Dunlaps over for some games for the rest of the evening. It was fun playing games again (it's been awhile) and getting to know the Dunlaps better (they just moved to Houston and were visiting our branch for a couple of weeks).

Hope everyone's holidays were fun and safe! What's your fave 4th of July tradition??