July 4th was on Sunday this year, which means the whole weekend was celebratory which, in some ways, makes it less exhausting, but in other ways, more exhausting. We did swimming on Friday and Saturday because I didn’t work and it was hot, hot. The Stadium of Fire was on Saturday night, so we had dinner, avoided going out during high traffic time, then headed over to Sertoma Park as it got close to 10:00pm. We thought fireworks would start at 10:00pm, but it was more like 10:30. They shot off some, then had a big break which many of us thought was the end, so we started home. They did some more, but by that time, we were done and so missed the grand finale (if it even was grand). Blythe got into the spirit of the evening, dressing up, making-up, and then playing in the park with Lily Lusvardi and her brothers and cousins. She probably had the most fun of all of us.
Sunday, we had a lovely church meeting, then returned home and began making homemade ice cream. Lots of homemade ice cream. We made vanilla, chocolate peanut butter brownie, and lime sorbet. We invited Brenda (just arrived in Provo), Lee, Cammie and Aaron, and David and Sharon to come to dinner. David and Sharon didn’t make it to dinner, but they came for dessert along with Seth and Noelle. It was so nice to visit and talk and eat yummy food. Does it get any better than that? Good conversation and food + people you love = the BEST!
Today, the 5th, was the parade and as we wanted to attend said parade, I sat out at the Davis’ business as I have in the past. Normally there are several women who do it, but last night, it was just me and Mikayla. It was wonderful. I picked her up shortly before 11:00pm, and we were there until 3:00am. We played some cards but mostly talked and talked and talked. We are so often interrupted by our children and life responsibilities, but when our people are sleeping and normal demands are not calling because it’s the middle of the night, we were able to share and laugh and cry a bit, too. I loved it. I also loved the terrific seats we had, right along the gutter.
The parade was alright. They were slow between groups and didn’t move very quickly, but it was fun to watch the kids love it all. The Davises had shaved ice, we visited with neighbors, we cheered and sang and did a bit of dancing. It was all terrific.
We went home, I took a short nap, and then we gathered foodstuffs and swimming gear and headed over to my mom’s house. We swam and ate with cousins and celebrated the joys of living in a free country with all the good things, like homemade ice cream and cookies. We got to swim with Bryan and Melissa’s kids, and we played a fun new game. It was sort of like musical chairs, but rather than trying to grab a chair to sit in when the music stopped, we jumped in the pool for a noodle. Luke won, but it was a hard-fought battle. Because we had Bryan and Melissa’s kids, we also got a picture of ALL the grandchildren, a true Independence Day miracle.
Here's to freedom and the Fourth of July!
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