July 4th

My boys are growing up so quickly. Getting my kids to go to a parade is getting more and more difficult. I still fight them as it is very nostalgic to me and it means "family time". So....for the Provo parade, Logan and his friend Ryan went down to Provo the night before the parade to stake out some spots. There was NOTHING. They found a spot on another side street but was told that they couldn't spend the night on that street and would have to come back in the morning at 5:00 am. They went to someone they worked for who lived close by and asked if they could camp on his lawn overnight. He said sure and they managed to get a spot close to the one they wanted the next day. It was so crazy at what went into it, but in the end we watched the parade in comfort and enjoyed all the festivities. We then headed over to the annual Hale BBQ/water and candy drop. This is a tradition that my family has done every July 4th since I was a small kid. We have a BBQ first then my uncles go to the second floor window and dress up for whatever is in the news for the year (this year they were Tiger Woods) :) As they improv, they throw out candy/water randomly to the kids below. It sounds stupid but very fun for the kids. After the candy drop is over, everyone runs around and begins the WATER FIGHT. It is huge and no one is given a free pass. We all leave SOAKED. It was a fun day followed by fireworks at our annual neighborhoos "culdesac of fire". I am so grateful for the freedom we have here in America and that we can celebrate it with family and friends every year!