Fourth of July

I think the Fourth of July just might be my favorite holiday. It's summer time so the weather is nice. You get to hang out with family (if I lived closer) and friends all day, eat great food, hopefully go swimming, and relax with hardly any preparation or expectations (like Christmas.) So great. We started the day by attending our Church's flag raising and pancake breakfast. You should have seen the thickness on these pancakes. They were incredibly huge. I must admit I was instantly weary and did not want to be caught off guard with some nasty uncooked pancake mix, but although thick, they were cooked all the way through. Kudos to the volunteer chefs.



After the activity, we rushed to our local community parade, which I absolutely loved last year. It failed to disappoint my high expectations and we had a great time watching all of the fire trucks and crazy stunt people walking around. I must admit my criteria for a good parade are relatively low: easy to park, not too many people, and free candy. Really everything else is a bonus. The great thing about local parades compared to big city parades such as Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington DC, and Provo, Utah (Not a big city, but huge parade) is that people are usually nicer and much more laid back about security. The policeman and local news camera man both asked if there was anything they could do to help (you can see them standing around in the background of the picture of Steve and the boys). They also don't care about little kids laying in the street or playing with the caution tape. All policeman should be like that. Bless them. I have also had great success in sitting next to people who are so kind and fun to be around. For example, we sat next to this small group of Grandpa and Grandmas who were thoroughly entertained by our kids. The Grandma sitting right next to me was hilarious. When passed a chip clip from a passing politician, she quickly put it in her hair making me and her small group laugh. Once the comedian, ever the comedian.







After the parade, we went to our friend's house to swim, eat some hamburgers, and watch fireworks. Donny managed to swipe a couple of cupcakes when no one was looking, which was often. Happy Fourth of July!