4th of July - a whole weekend of fun

When you talk about Independence Day, you say "4th of July". But in Utah, when the 4th falls on a Sunday it becomes the 3rd, 4th and 5th of July. It was a whole weekend of fun, but, wow, was it exhausting! I love spending time with family and friends and it was great to have this excuse to spend the whole weekend together. Saturday evening was the fireworks at Thanksgiving Point. Sunday was the actual 4th and Monday was the Provo Freedom Festival parade. We definitely made the most of the whole weekend.
What started out as a sunny but windy evening Saturday, turned quickly into a chilly outing. We claimed our regular spot at the back of the Thanksgiving Point theater parking lot on the grassy parkstrip. This has been a great spot to hang out in and watch fireworks from. It was nice to have Mark's family and Mom and Dad there this year.

It was really windy so the kids spent some time in Mark and Cia's car and Alison sat in the back of hers.

You can see how freezing cold it was, by how we are sitting waiting for the fireworks. Someone forgot to tell the weatherman that it was July.

After the fireworks are done, the fun begins. While waiting for all the other people to leave so we don't have to sit in traffic, we play. This year, the kids entertained us with "what they can do". Of course, Jeff wouldn't be outdone so he did some hula hooping with the glowstick "necklaces". Unfortunately it was too dark for the video to come out well - the picture doesn't do it justice. Markee and Tamsyn did their breakdancing moves and pyramids were formed.

Holiday celebration on a Sunday - what do we do? Play games, of course! And what game do we play when we have a lot of people? Dalmuti, of course! Always a great photo opportunity. I broke out the skunk skin hat just for this occasion. I thought Josh would like to see his parents in skunk skin and flowers. These are for you, Josh. :-)

Fireworks with the Cooks. What more can I say. Craig is the firework king. He kept us very entertained, with his minions Maddie, Peter and Erik. It wouldn't be the 4th of July without "Fireworks by Craig". No fires were set, no doors dented and no major injuries this year, but it was a very good year.

We spend so much time with the Cooks, but we have so few pictures of the time we spend together. I just had to get one group shot of the kids after the fireworks were done. Unfortunately, Cameron wasn't with us this year so he's not in it. So, a strange parade experience this year. First of all, we didn't run the Freedom Run. I didn't register us early enough and I wasn't going to pay $100 just for Jared, Peter, Erik and I to run 3 miles. It was just as well since Jared broke his toe a week ago and can't run and Peter and Erik didn't really want to. But, the other strange thing was the weather. It was FREEZING in the morning - only in the 50s! We got to Provo at 6:15 and instead of laying out the blankets, we had to wrap up in them! It was nice and warm by the end of the parade, but not HOT like it usually is. All that global warming . . . But it was a pleasant time, surrounded by family and friends and old neighbors.

Markee and her BFF, Brittany Hanks with their matching shirts that we made, and then, flanking Tamsyn. Silly girls.

The Star Wars characters are always a favorite part of the pre-parade. I think they ARE my favorite part . . .

The afternoon was spent playing games, of course, while the kids played with cousins. Last year it was hot and the kids played with water all afternoon, slip and sliding, sprinklers, water bottle rockets, etc. This year, it was only warm and the kids played for a while outside but were shivering. Here they are chillin' in the "hot tub". And to finish off the weekend - of course, more fireworks. We spent about an hour setting off Mark's set of fireworks while the little kids played with the sparklers. Fun was had by all and I am sure everyone had a good night sleep Monday night. Next year, can we make the 4th of July just one day? Thanks, I'm getting too old for this. :-)