Fourth of July

I can hardly believe it, but this blog post is going up in the same month that it took place in!  I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel... :)

We had a wonderful 4th of July this year!  To kick things off right, Luke slept a solid 8 hours during the night, and we all enjoyed sleeping in.  We had made plans for a morning hike with Grandma Candy, but because we slept later than expected, we decided to modify that plan.  Instead of hiking when it was too hot, I thought it would be fun to visit a place I used to go with my family when I was young.  So we packed a lunch, loaded the kids, picked up Grandma Candy, and headed to Mueller Park!  We found a nice table in the shade, and the kids got right to exploring the same little creek with Grandma Candy that I used to when I was a kid.  There is something so cool about that.

Speaking of cool, look how adorable my little patriots were in their 4th of July duds!  This is our first year actually dressing patriotic on purpose, and I really loved seeing the kids in red, white, and blue.

While the girls were looking at pretty rocks with Grandma Candy, Danny and Johnny enjoyed some good old father-son outdoorsy time.  Luke would have loved to join in, but he was enjoying some good old mother-son nursing time. :)

Once Luke and I were ready to join in the fun, we decided to go on a little walk.  Grandma Candy and I remembered a relatively easy walk that looped around the park.  We thought it would be the perfect mini-version of our previously planned hike, so we set out to find it.

But for some reason, we couldn't find it!  Turns out, that was okay.  It was a bit warmer than we had anticipated, and the kids were hungry.  So we started making our way back to camp.  But Claire was too exhausted to carry on without some help.  Grandma Candy found her the perfect walking stick!  What would we do without Grandmas?

We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch, and then got started on what has now officially become a 4th of July tradition.  Magic Wands for the fireworks!  The girls had been excited for days about making their wands, and I got caught up in the excitement too.  So much so, that I realized I bought all things that really only I could use.  So the kids ended up with really cool wands...that they got to watch me make. :)  I'll keep their little hands in mind next year!

Once "we" were done making wands, we cleaned up our little camp and made our way back to the car.  Danny and Grandma Candy decided that a long, pretty drive was in order.  It was a way to kill a couple of hours and ensure that the kids got a nap.  And lucky us, we even had some dramamine on hand to ensure a vomit-free experience.  And to ensure at least the girls got a good nap!

Danny decided to take us home by way of Farmington Canyon.  We drove along the very top of the mountains, and the views were incredible!

We were almost to the end of our drive when we came across a "Road Closed" sign.  There had once been caution tape strewn across the road, but it had long since been ripped away.  Since there was only one way off the mountain, Danny figured it must be an old sign since we hadn't seen any earlier indications that the road was closed.  Plus, our only other option would be to turn around and spend another hour and a half backtracking.  As Danny said, he couldn't possibly turn around and waste that much time unless he knew for sure the road was closed.  So on we went!  And the farther we went, the more confident I became that we were going to be just fine.  Until we were almost out of the canyon, and we hit the road closure.  Seriously?! So, we turned around and spent the next 90 minutes going back the way we came.  Good thing we had plenty of time on our hands!  And luckily the kids were still mostly asleep.  We finally made it back to Bountiful, and weren't much worse for the wear.

Our plans for the rest of the day included a cookout and swim party at the school, and meeting up for fireworks that night.  Grandma Candy decided she wanted to rest before the fireworks, so we dropped her off at her house before continuing on to the school.  We got there just in time to swim for a while before dinner...

We love the kids new water wings!  They give the kids the ability and confidence to actually swim, which makes it much more fun for Danny and I.  And more fun for the kids, too!  There's only so much to do on the stairs...

Ok, jumping to Daddy from the stairs is still fun. :)

Ok...it's also still fun to chill with your cousins on the stairs, too.

But nothing on the stairs can possibly compete with the sheer thrill of 8 feet of air beneath you!

We have so much fun swimming at the pool.  We haven't been able to go near as much as we'd like, what with having a baby and all, but we've made some fun memories when we have been able to go.  Thanks, Grandma and Papa for an awesome place to play!

Luke isn't able to swim quite yet, so he found a wonderfully warm and loving place to sit under the shade.  Great Grandma Call still has the magic touch, and she kept Luke quite happy while the rest of us played.

Before we knew it, it was getting late.  So we rushed the kids home for baths before heading off to the fireworks.  Well, that was the plan, anyway.  We got home, got the kids in the bath, and then started to realize what a dumb idea it was to try to make it to the fireworks.  Even though we knew it would disappoint the girls, we decided to stay home.  Turned out to be a good idea!  Because of the fire danger this year, they cancelled some of the fireworks in the area.  Not the Layton City ones, however, which was where we were going to go.  Apparently, it was so busy they eventually had to shut down the roads to and from the park to manage the crowds!  We made the right decision.

But it wasn't all disappointment for the girls.  Apparently, it is no longer illegal to set off your own aerial fireworks, and the neighborhood was ablaze with them!  Claire and Sophie got to see some fun fireworks from the front porch, as well as watch the televised fireworks shows from New York and DC.  Turned out, they still got to use their wands, and they didn't have to get bit by mosquitoes.  Win, win.  Well, except maybe for the mosquitoes. :)

As always, Danny and I were reminded how blessed we are to live in this wonderfully free country, and to raise our precious family here.  We're grateful for the sacrifice of so many men, women, and their families as they have fought and continue to fight to keep us free.  God Bless America!