July 4

Holidays are such an exciting and fun time for me.  I love that Jesse gets some rare time off of work,  I love getting the chance to do things that are out of the ordinary, and I especially love all of the packed amount of family time we get.  This fourth of July weekend was no exception.  

We started the weekend with a pool/homemade-brick-oven-pizza party at Dallin and Sarah's newly finished house.  We've had several pool parties there in the past but this was the first one where the house and landscaping were finished, which was convenient to have a place to clean up and change.  (Sometime later I want to post some pictures of their beautiful award-winning house, recently shown in the Utah Valley Parade of Homes, but not today).  

My kids are sooo much braver this year in the pool, which makes it funner for everyone!  They had a blast going down the slide. Over. And. Over.

This picture cracks me up.  I'm not sure where that face came from.

I didn't capture any pictures of the pizza making in their backyard brick oven or of our awesome firework display in the world's biggest sandbox, but we did those things and had a wonderful time!

On Sunday Kayli and Andrew blessed their darling new baby, Luke.  After the blessing, Jack and Jayci sure enjoyed playing in "Austin's other grandma"'s huge backyard.  I don't blame them.  There were tons of kids, two swing sets, ride-on toys, and Jayci's favorite, cherry trees. (Which ended up cutting our trip short).  We all came home and rested and napped then headed to Mapleton for a family bbq at Jesse's uncle's house with his side of the family.  Jesse's teenage cousin grabbed our kids the moment we walked in the door and entertained them the WHOLE time.  It was the most relaxing dinner I think I've ever been to!

So what kind of super crazy people wake up at 5 AM and drag their kids out of bed at 5:30?  Well, we did, along with thousands of others.  

Monday morning, bright and early, we headed to Provo for the annual Freedom Festival, starting with the Balloon Fest.  Each year we've done this with the kids I think we must be crazy.  That is, until we get there.  These faces make it all worth it.

After the balloons we headed to the Grand Parade, a tradition that we do every year.  Jess will only commit to attending one parade per year, so this is the one.  

I think half the parade was firetrucks, which Jack later said was his favorite part. 

Couldn't tell, bud!

Jayci should be in show business.  With every marching band that passed, she would jump up right in front of everyone and start groovin' and shakin' her booty!  I was much more entertained by her than the parade.

Yes, I do comb my child's hair every now and then, but mostly it's a pointless effort since she always "fixes" it.

I sure do love my handsome boys!

My kids love uncle 'Cramen' so much.  I know they will miss him alot over the next two years, but I'm grateful for the example he's setting.  Cameron will be the first and only missionary for a long time (directly in the family) that my kids will see go.  We are excited to write to him each Sunday!!

 

 Boy, anyone who knows Jayci well knows that this is a crazy-rare occurrence.   She is the most difficult sleeper (at age 3, still not sleeping through the night. In case anyone wonders why we don't have another baby yet....) and just doesn't do stuff like this very often.  Poor girl, I guess 5:30 is too early to start the day.  Don't feel bad honey, it is for Mama too!

This pretty much sums up how we all felt, and did when we got home.  Except Jayci, of course.  A 7 min nap was good enough for her, so she trashed her room while the rest of us snoozed!

After naps we celebrated Uncle Alex's birthday with another delicious bbq at Gramma Kristy and Grandpa Rick's.

 

Mouth-watering food, fun activities, the best company.  

Perfect weekend!