Thursday, July 7, 2011

4th of July Fun!!

Our absolute favorite thing to do on the 4th of July is go to the Monument Parade. It is the perfect small-town event. This event actually has a special place in our heart because it was there 5 years ago that God brought an awareness to us of Swaziland, Africa. That is another story all together.

I only have a few pics from the parade. Let's not talk about why. That is a bit of a sore subject.

The weather was perfect this year. It was blazing hot, just like I like it. We got there just as the children's parade was ending and the guns were shooting. Rick requires all of us to wear red, white, and blue or some combination on this special day each year.
Most of my crew
Laila is content to sit in her chair.
She is not concerned about getting lots of candy.
She actually covered herself up with this blanket.
Did I mention it was about 90 degrees?
These two call themselves the commentators.
I like to call them the "peanut gallery."
They give the play-by-play and add their opinions as the parade passes by.
My favorite quote was, "Think it, don't say it." There was a particularly disturbing image that I will not soon get out of my mind during one portion of the parade. There was really nothing to be said that would have been nice so we chose a moment of silence.

After the parade, we went to Greg and Karen's house for a cookout, and guess what, no pictures from that portion of our day. Oh, well. It was fun as always. The food was fabulous. The afternoon was relaxed. Being on their deck, chatting and eating is so peaceful.

We left the Mortensen's house, flew home, all took showers/baths, and then got ready to head back out for fireworks. We decided to go to the parking lot of Rick's office. It has a perfect view of the Air Force stadium. The weather continued to be perfect. It was the first 4th of July where I didn't need a sweatshirt. That made me so happy!!
Lauren and Isaiah decided to cuddle up under the blanket
Laila has on her 4th of July jammies!
Isaiah decided to join Abby and Sam
The great part about being at Rick's office is that others from the office were there as well.
Cody and Andrew waiting for the fireworks
The kids were getting tired and a bit whiny. We had to wait about 2o minutes before the fireworks started. Isaiah decided to disobey so he ended up in a seat next to Rick. He was not happy. The fireworks started. Isaiah was saying, "I hate fireworks." There were "oohs," "aahs," and a discussion about the difference between glittery and sparkly fireworks. I snuck some dark chocolate covered raisins out there. Because it was so dark, Rick, Laila, and I were able to eat them without anyone knowing.

Then, all of sudden, our evening got exciting. We were in the middle of the lawn when the sprinklers turned on. We had blankets, chairs, a camera, chair covers, etc. to gather and then quickly run through the path of sprinklers to safety. Now that is a memory we won't forget.
The aftermath of the sprinklers
We were a bit distracted from the fireworks during that time. We left wet and with a story to tell. 4th of July, 2011 did not disappoint!

1 comment:

  1. That is hilarious! Definitely will remember that day won't you?

    ReplyDelete