July 4th

This year I feel as though the 4th of July came quick and I was not prepared. Granted the week before was busy for us; Tim started school at Dev Mountain, family came into town, my brother's wedding, and a baby shower for my cousin. So this holiday was forgotten. Even though it was all last minute preparations, lots of fun memories were made. 

I woke up early to run the Freedom 10K run in Provo, and after I finished I met Tim downtown so we could switch off with Oliver. Tim had school all day so Oliver and I went to get food and fireworks for later that evening. 

Oliver took a long 4hr nap in which I cleaned the house, and made a pasta salad and fruit bowl we headed over to our friends/neighbors Stephanie and Andrew's house. Stephanie and Andrew's kids, Lucy and Ollie played in the pool, while our Ollie mainly watered their flowers with a watering can. He had little interest in getting into the pool, but was convinced for a short while to get in. The adults just hung out waiting for the food to be ready. 

Once Tim got home we ate pulled pork sandwiches, ribs, corn and the salads I made. We sat and talked while I held their sweet week old baby girl Eleanor. A few times we could see and hear jets flying over and we later found out they were for the Stadium of Fire. Our neighbors next door began lighting off fireworks and so after we cleaned up and ate desert we all headed to the front for the real fun to begin. 

Lucy, Ollie and Ollie

These kids loved the fireworks. We left the bigger aerial fireworks to our other neighbor Tony and stuck with the smaller ones for the kids to enjoy. Every year Tony puts on a big show, and every year I pray hard for my house to not burn down. Though I have to say the show he puts on is worth the risk. We just make sure to water the grass really well, and have a hose ready.

 All day Oliver was anxious for the fireworks, and kept asking for them so when the time came to light them off he was more than happy to help 'dada.' He loved throwing the poppers, but wasn't sure about the sparklers. I tried really hard to get him to smile for a picture but he was so focused on the sparkler. The kids had fun watching their dads light off the fireworks, and when it grew darker watching the bigger ones be lit off. Earlier our neighbors had lit off ones that were parachutes with army men attached, and they all landed on our house and in our yards. It was discovered that a deer had died behind our back fence when a Tim and a few others went to pick up all the parachutes. 

We took this shot over and over again, but could not get Oliver to look up for the picture. He was so distracted.

It was a fun and memorable fourth. Oliver loved playing with his friends and watching the fireworks go off. My favorite part of the night was after we had lit off all of our fireworks and were watching the bigger ones being set off in our street. Oliver came and cuddled with me under a blanket. Those moments are rare and far between and so I soaked every moment of it up. I am grateful that we have made friends with our neighbors and get to create these fun memories for our kids. I am grateful for the freedoms we have and for this grate country we live in. We are truly blessed.

Happy Fourth of July.