4th of July!

So, our 4th of July this year was great! Just like last year, the weathermen on the news predicted rain, but it ended up being bright, sunny, and quite warm all day. It was beautiful out. We got up early to walk with the Maases down to North Avenue to reserve a spot for the parade. The Hunters, Hansens, Simons, and Hymases all came and joined us for the parade too. Kolby remembered that last year there were people dressed up in Elmo and Mickey Mouse costumes in the parade, and he was excited to see them again. The kids all got little flags, which they enjoyed waving around. There were people walking on stilts and high school marching bands. A civic band came by playing their instruments, and Michael commented that he wants to join a community band when we get settled down sometime soon. And there was a carriage pulled by two large horses that came up near where we were sitting and Kolby and Eli both jumped up and moved away because they were a little startled. At one point the people came by dressed as the different characters and Elmo was across the street, but Kolby got to shake hands with Bob the Builder and Donald Duck, which was fun for him. And both Kolby and Eli came away from the parade with a little bag full of candy that the people in the parade threw to the kids. Camden ended up asleep on my lap by the end of the parade.



After we went home and got a few things ready, we went over to the annual ward 4th of July BBQ party at the Twelmyer’s house. It was very fun. Michael and the boys all swam (we were surprised that there were lots of people swimming, because the pool wasn’t heated and Michael has been one of the few crazy swimmers the last couple of years we had the party, but this year it was nice and warm out). We had lunch and the kids played with Daddy in the big pool and in a little baby pool that someone brought. Camden had a blast splashing in the baby pool, and then fell asleep in my arms as soon as I got him dried off and dressed. He had a short nap in the playpen while we enjoyed the rest of the party.

After going home and letting the boys have a 2-hour nap, we met and parked our cars at the Taylor’s house and walked a couple of blocks to Hart Park for the professional fireworks show. We got a nice spot on the grass in the football field, right up front. The kids ran around playing for a while before it got dark. At one point Kolby and Eli were chasing each other and they got a little too far from us, so I went to get them because there was a big crowd of people there and we didn’t want to loose sight of them at all. So, they were running and chasing each other and then they were running from me, and they thought it was a great game. I was darting in between people and around picnic blankets, and I finally caught Eli, but Kolby kept running fast. He wouldn’t stop when I called him, but I couldn’t loose him in that big crowd, so I picked up Eli under one arm and carried him like a football as I ran, literally as fast as I could, after Kolby. People were probably laughing at the sight of this pregnant lady with a big belly, carrying a two-year-old under one arm and jumping over blankets to try to catch a 3-year-old. I finally caught up to him after running around at least half the length of the football field, and then headed back to our group, where Michael was searching the crowd because he couldn’t see where the boys or I had gone. I was panting for several minutes after I got back, but fortunately the boys stayed right by us the rest of the night.

When it got dark, we all lay down on our picnic blanket and watched the fireworks show together. It was great (especially since last year someone brought a wagon and the boys played in/fought over the wagon through the entire fireworks show). This year they were so excited about the fireworks and they just lay still right next to us the whole time. Camden really wanted to watch the fireworks, but each time one made a loud noise he started to cry. After a minute or so, Michael covered him with his blanket and laid him on his stomach, and Camden quickly fell asleep for the rest of the show. Michael said that during the loudest part of the finale, Camden stayed asleep, but his legs popped up in the air each time a firework exploded. The show was very good, but there must have been a bit of a breeze blowing toward the crowd, because there was ash falling on us from the fireworks, and some got in my eye. Never had that happen before. Also, at one point, part of one of the fireworks hit the ground about 10 or 15 feet from where we were sitting, and sparked and bounced around on the grass for a few seconds before going out. Everyone around there was lucky, because there were people sitting a few feet on either side of where it landed, and it could have burned someone pretty badly. But luckily it all went well, and the fireworks were beautiful. My favorite are the gold, glittery ones that kind of make a crackling noise as they come down. We came home and put the boys right in bed, and got to sleep around 11pm. It was a long, but very fun day!