A toasty 4th of July

The 4th of July was a bit different year, owing mostly to the fact that the air conditioning in our house went out that week....one of the hottest weeks of the summer, mind you. And you all remember how I feel about heat, yes? That we don't get along well? Yeah. And what with the heat wave making a lot of AC units go out along the Wasatch Front, combined with the holiday weekend....the soonest we could get a repair guy in to look at it was a full week after it went out. So when my house was sitting at a toasty 89 degrees, the last thing I wanted to do was go outside and then not be able to get cooled off again. (I spent most of my days hanging out under the ceiling fan in the living room. If I stayed fairly still, I could endure the heat. Lots of reading and laptop time ensued.) So no 4th of July parade or carnival or fireworks show. I just wasn't sure I could handle it.

We did decide to attend a BBQ we had been invited to at the home of some friends with five or so other families in the neighborhood. They had a pool in the backyard. And a lovely air conditioned house. And both of those things felt very refreshing...as well as enjoying the company of friends. And though we skipped the city fireworks show, we found that there were enough fireworks going on closer by that we could sit on our back porch and get quite and amazing show without even going anywhere.

The next day after three hours of air conditioned church, we headed to my parents house (also air conditioned, hooray!) for a family get together.

It felt a little bit funny to be celebrating a holiday meant to honor America's freedom and independence from England...with a Union Jack flag hanging proudly in my living room. An American living in England is probably the slightest bit awkward when it comes to Independence Day. Rebekah and her fellow American sister and senior missionaries serving at the Hyde Park Chapel Visitor's Center went to Five Guys for lunch to celebrate figuring that a hamburger and fries felt like a little bit like a piece of American tradition.

Sweating in honor of the founding fathers

Rebekah had a double shift at Lagoon-a-Beach and neither Brandon nor Bryan had any desire to sit around in the heat so I saved seats for only Lilian and myself for the annual 4th of July parade. Julianne hitched a ride but was actually in the parade as part of the high school junior committee, so it was just the two of us girls. And boy howdy, it really was hot. I absolutely adore Independence Day...but sometimes I wish it was not in the middle of the summer, you know? How about the 4th of May? Or the 4th of October?

But then again, apparently the founding fathers during their debates on independence were equally hot, having to deal with the insane heat of summer in Philadelphia.
(Ever watch the musical "1776"? It's delightful, of course. One of my favorites. One of the songs is called "Sit Down, John"...John being John Adams. He's trying to bully everyone into voting yes for independence and everyone else is annoyed because not only is John Adams "obnoxious and disliked"...it's just too hot.)

It's ninety degrees, have mercy John, please
It's hot as hell, in Philadelphia.

Someone ought to open up a window...

No, No, No, 
Too many flies, Too many flies
But it's hot as hell, in Philadelphia

Someone ought to open up a window
Can't we compromise here?

So maybe in honor of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and the rest of the founding fathers, we can sweat it out in July here in Utah as they did all those many years ago in Philly, while we celebrate our great country. Or at least that's the spin I'm going to put on it.

We here in Kaysville are hugely and unabashedly proud of our Davis High marching band.

Remind me why I came out early the night before to save front row spots for the parade? At least I had a chair...

One unique thing about the Kaysville parade is that at the end, it turns into a water parade. Notice is given so as to allow any spectators wanting to stay dry ample time to get out of the way. But the majority stick around to greet the water trucks and it turns into a full on water fight street party. It's ridiculous amounts of fun. Lilian was drenched, I wad drenched...I got hit so hard with a stream of water that it blew my sunglasses right off my face. That's one way to beat the summer 4th of July heat, yes? I bet the founding fathers would approve.

Julianne's Junior Committee was in the water fight portion of the parade. Unfortunately they ran out of water before they hit the end of the route. Oh well...she had a good time.

Higher Ground had been invited to sing at the Kaysville 4th of July carnival so later that afternoon Kami, Julie and I did a 30 minute show. This was our second year performing for the 4th (last year I came home from a camping trip to do the gig). But also our last performance with the three of us for awhile. Julie left the next day for a year of traveling the country with her family...a big RV adventure. It seemed appropriate that our last show together was one filled with patriotic fare...a send off of sorts, as Julie heads off to explore our great nation. I think we all cried a little as we sang our last song, "God Bless America."

Independence Day

You want to know the best part of today?  It wasn't necessarily the 5k or the parade or even the fireworks...although they did play a part.  No...it was breakfast.  And not that the big town breakfast was more impressive than usual, really.  The pancakes, eggs and ham were good, of course.  But as I sat there downing my food, I looked around and was struck by all the people around me.  Business was booming and there were hordes of people milling around and sitting at tables.  Some wearing running attire having just come from the 5k like me, others decked out in their red, white and blue Independence Day finery.  But all of them part of our community.  And I realized that this holiday, more than any other is about just that.  Friends, neighbors, townsfolk, community, Americans....all coming together to celebrate our history and our culture.  Which is why, I realized, that I try so hard to really support and participate in our community Independence Day celebrations.  Why I don't treat it as just a nice day off to lounge around the house.  I want to feel that community, American spirit.  And as I looked around at all my local townsfolk and thought about all of this, I admit I got a little emotional. 

 Despite the fact that Julianne did NOT love running the 5k last year, she accepted the invitation again.  Why?  Because she had "run a 5k" on her summer bucket list.  Go figure.  The muttered comments ie: "stupid running," and "I hate this" etc. were not quite as bad as last year.  But all the same, this 5k for her was something to be tolerated or endured rather than enjoyed.  Brandon surprised me by agreeing to run.  I think it's because I kept telling him that despite the fact that he could run faster than me, I was doubtful that he could keep it up for a longer distance than just a mile.  About a minute into the race, he turned to me and said, "See you at the finish, then?" and took off in his little Vibram five-finger shoes.  And yes, he finished his 5k in 29:58....a good 6 minutes before me.  But in my defense, maybe I could've kept up with him had I not been trying to encourage Julianne who had an awful side ache (along with her lovely attitude.)  She fully claims that had I ditched her she would've been cursing me in her head.  :)

(We tried to keep cool with a bunch of little hand-held, battery operated fans and lots of drinking water. )

Extreme heat and I don't get a long.  Which is why, though I love living in a place that has four distinct seasons, summer is my least favorite.  But the 4th of July is a day where I will happily and willingly tolerate the heat and the sweat rolling down my back to enjoy the festivities.  I love me a good Independence Day parade.  I was a little disgruntled this year, though.  With sirens blaring, the fire department rolled truck after truck down the parade route.  Then the police motorcycles.  The city council drove by in various convertible cars.  The cheerleaders and the (huge) high school marching band came next.  All good stuff, but I'm thinking "Where is the flag????"  My favorite part of the whole parade...standing up with all my neighbors and townsfolk up and down the route, all of us with hand over heart as the flag goes by at the very beginning of the parade, and then the reverence and deference for our country's flag dissolving into grateful applause and cheers for the veterans that come next.  This is not only the best part of the parade, but the most important, in my opinion.  Where was it???  After the marching band, finally they came.  And the flag didn't come by on it's own accompanied by a color guard...no, it was just on the back of one of the veterans trucks.  I have to admit, I was deeply disappointed.  Seemed to me that the parade organizers got it terribly wrong this year.

This year I got talked into letting Lilian join the mini cheer camp run by the local high school cheerleaders...a few of which live in our neighborhood.  Cheer leading is really not my thing....at least not for my 5-year old.  I'm not really a fan of young kids shaking their booty and doing moves that make them look like they are 5 going on 16....that's just my opinion.  But I liked helping my neighbors with their fundraiser and Lilian enjoyed going to the cheer camp with her friends.  They performed at the big carnival right after the parade and I have to admit, Lilian did look pretty cute.  Plus, she adores her new t-shirt....

 We were hugely thankful for the invite from a friend to swim in her backyard pool.  I was feeling much like a baked potato and spent absolutely no time on social niceties beyond saying hello before jumping in the pool.  Ahhh...  A few hours of swimming and relaxing under a shade umbrella was just the thing I needed to recover from the heat of the parade and steel myself for the upcoming warmth of the outdoor BBQ and fireworks to come.

Luckily the evening wasn't as broiling and while the kids ran happily amok, we enjoyed good food and the company of great neighbors.  The stereo providing the soundtrack to our evening turned into a karaoke and dancing contest this year once again.  Apparently this is becoming a neighborhood tradition.  And then the music died down in favor of the booms and whistles of fireworks when it got dark enough.  And wow, what a show!  Enough oohs and ahhs to make you feel like you were at a professional show.  What can I say, our neighborhood takes their fireworks seriously.  :)  It was a tiring but happy day.  I love the 4th of July!  

 
      

Happy 4th of July!

For the past 3 years we've considered running the local 4th of July 5k...this year we finally did it. Originally we had plans to do it as an entire family. But then Brandon said, "Mom, I am NOT a runner" and bowed out. Bryan was disturbed by the fact that it cost $ to run this 5k and declined in protest. And seeing as we were going to be pushing Lilian in a stroller while we ran...we decided to leave her home in bed as well if the boys were going to be available to watch her.

Close to 1,000 people were up bright and early to bring in the holiday with this community run. It was a fun atmosphere. Lots of neighbors, lots of friends. Unfortunately, we got a mile into our run and Julianne developed a wicked side-ache. Our run turned into a run/walk as she tried to deal with her pain (and her increasing irritability about the whole thing). Run a block, walk a block, run to that school crossing sign, walk to that white picket fence, etc. But we did it. And although it took Julianne a good half hour to get a smile back on her face, she eventually (in hindsight) decided that it had been kind of fun. Well, maybe fun is too strong of a word. Ummm....a good experience? A neat accomplishment?

After the run we headed across the street to the 4th of July breakfast. Rebekah's friend Bryant was working there and arranged for Rebekah to get free food and all of us to skip ahead of the long line. We were grateful. Next year I think we'll do the breakfast as an entire family. Bryan may not want to join the 5k...but breakfast is something he can get behind.

We rushed home, showered and dressed, and then headed back to the parade and the chairs we had set up earlier that morning to save our place. I was worried tremendously about heat. I don't handle heat well so we packed numerous ice cold water bottles to drink and spray/mist bottles to help keep us cool. I chose function over fashion in my wardrobe choice (which is unusual for me!) and chose, instead of patriotic attire, a flimsy, lightweight skirt and t-shirt. But my preparation was all for naught. I was delighted to discover that the whole 2 hour parade stayed under the cover of overcast skies. It didn't matter that we were on the "sunny" side of the street...the whole city was in shade! It made the parade so much more enjoyable!

These veterans made me cry. I am a sentimental sap regarding any and all things patriotic so the beginning of the parade, when they march the flag by and everyone stands in silent respect with hand over heart, always brings tears. But coming up right behind the flag this year, was the veterans. This group from the Korean War got stalled right in front of me. Lilian and I waved...and a few of these amazing men locked eyes with us, smiled and waved back. I've been reading a book entitled "The Seven Miracles That Saved America" by Chris Stewart...a book that, though not mentioning the Korean War specifically, talks a lot about these brave men and women throughout American history that fought for our freedom. So when truck after truck over veterans and soldiers rolled past us on the parade route, I lost it.


Our city has a unique and fun tradition wherein the whole parade route turns into a massive water fight towards the end of the parade....the last few entries carrying super soakers followed by huge water trucks and fire engines. Hoses are hooked to fire hydrants up and down the street. Families come prepared with buckets and super soakers of their own...with coolers and garbage cans filled with water for re-filling. Obviously, those who want to stay dry tend to leave a bit early to get out of the war zone in time. Last year I was more than happy to get drenched...it was HOT! But this year I was feeling quite comfortable and knew that we still had more events still to attend so staying dry was my plan. We couldn't leave early because Rebekah was watching the parade with some friends and we needed to wait for her to wind her way back down the street to us. So we thought we'd just step back a bit from all the crazy water while we waited....

But then Mother Nature joined in the fun and decided at that moment to dump some rain. Right about that same time the families on either side of us pulled out their water-fighting weapons and ammo...and although they were not aiming for us specifically, we definitely got caught in the crossfire! We had just got our camp chairs folded up and moved back to where Julianne was hiding out when I saw Rebekah coming down the street...wet, wet, wet as could be. I walked out of our "hiding place" to flag her down and while distracted, talking with her, the big water truck snuck up on us. How can a big truck like that truly "sneak" you ask? Well, okay....I knew it was coming. But it got there a little faster than I expected and we had only enough time to turn our backs to the spray. I ended up pretty soaked through. Lilian cried, the water taking her by surprise. I laughed. Julianne just rolled her eyes from the safety of her dry spot. Seriously though, what a fun tradition!



After some dry clothes and a nap, we headed down the street for a BBQ with some of our neighbors. In between eating and waiting for it to get dark enough for fireworks we did karaoke. Yep, we did! I haven't laughed that hard in awhile! Our closing number was "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by all the ladies. Silly, silliness, I tell you.And can I just say...with all these used-to-be-illegal-but-but-now-newly-legal fireworks we set off last night...I felt like I was witnessing as awesome of a firework display as I'd see if I'd paid money to go to an official show. There was some serious wow factor going on last night.

The 4th of July is my second favorite holiday...superseded only slightly by Thanksgiving. Both holidays filled to bursting with American history which, I think, might be one of the main reasons they are my favorites. But also because they are filled with family and friends. And Bryan and I are beyond blessed with both....wonderful, awesome and amazing. I am truly grateful for my town and neighborhood, and the friends we have made. Grateful for this blessed country and the God given miracles that have made it possible for it to be "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

Favorite Photo Friday

4th of July 2003. Cute Julianne.

Celebrating Independence Day

I love the 4th of July. It's my second favorite holiday (after Thanksgiving) so we had quite the busy weekend as I packed as much patriotic fun into 3 days as I could. (I even got the kids to watch the musical "1776" with me. Well, until I noticed that John Adams was swearing about every other sentence and realized I was decidedly uncomfortable about it all...)

Bryan came home from work on Friday and told me that his friend and business partner said as he was leaving, "I'm going to celebrate my independence by going home and doing whatever my wife tells me to." I laughed. Because I'm sure Bryan related to those sentiments.


Friday night we continued our tradition of attending the concert in the park and the big fireworks show in our old town. Brandon and Bryan ended up going to a gymnastics BBQ and team party so it was just the four of us girls. Lilian was so excited she could hardly contain it and asked all day, "Is it time for fireworks yet???"




In my opinion it's not the 4th of July without a parade. Bryan most likely wouldn't agree with me but he was a good sport on Saturday morning and still came anyhow. He even dressed in patriotic colors. And wow...what a great picture of that good looking man I married!!

Don't you think these are the perfect patriotic shoes?? (Side note: They also doubled as pretty awesome vampire shoes when I dressed up to see "Eclipse" a few nights ago. Multi-functional shoes....can't beat that!)

A few highlights of the parade? Watching my kids watching the parade is one of them. I took so many pictures like this one. Another... the jets from Hill Airforce Base flying overhead. I LOVE that! It gives me the chills. Another thing that gives me the chills... the start of the parade when the color guard brings the flag down the route and everyone stands and puts their hands over their hearts. I cried. I literally cried. Did I mention that I am a sentimental sap for any and all things patriotic?

This was another favorite for me...probably because I am still on a Ragnar high. Did you know that Ragnar started in Utah? The Wasatch Back was the very first one. There are many of them throughout the country now, but the headquarters are in Utah not far from my home. I saw this semi trailer up at the finish line in Park City. And I've been passing it daily for the past few weeks as I've been out and about. So I got all excited to see it lumbering down the street in the parade. I jumped out of my seat and whooped and hollered...and wished I was wearing my Ragnar t-shirt.


We spent the evening down the street with a bunch of neighbors for a BBQ and fireworks. After eating the guys pulled out the ping pong table and played a few rounds of "Slap Back." Wondering what that is? Yeah, I was too. Apparently it's a version of "Around the World" ping pong that is hilarious for spectators but pressure filled and potentially painful for the players. The players keep track of how many times they miss and when they get up to three... that's when the fun begins. Rules state that the player go nose to the garage door, pull up his shirt to reveal his bare back and then each of the other players gets a chance to whack the ping pong ball at him. Some of the men got some big ol' welts! Luckily for Bryan, he never got to three....

Hanging with the ladies...

Okay...so it's not on the same par as a big stadium show. But I think we had our own fairly impressive little "Cul-de-sac of Fire."


Seeing as the official 4th fell on a Sunday this year, we made sure to still dress in red, white or blue. I loved that we sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the opening song in church. And that we all stood as a congregation to sing it together. We have "In God We Trust" on our money. We say "One nation under God" in our Pledge of Allegiance. Honestly, being at church on the 4th, I thought, was pretty appropriate.