4th of July - Utah Style

The fourth of July is always filled with lots of fun family traditions and festivities and it spans over a couple days!  We kicked off the weekend with the hot air balloons and breakfast at my mom's house.

Andrew and Rachel participated in the fun run in Provo and it is one of my favorite traditions (if only we could get more friends to wake up early to join us!).  I just looked up the results - Andrew ran a mile in 11 minutes, 5 seconds and got 5th place in his division and Rachel ran her mile in 10 minutes, 5 seconds and got 6th place in her division.

The parade was underwhelming (just like every single year), but at least this year Cade and his friends were willing to camp out for the spot, so we didn't have to do much at all.  After the parade while we were all cleaning up, Kendall wandered off (we think she might have been following Papa to his car) and we lost her for a good few, terrible minutes.  That is the worst feeling, but she was fine and seemed to learn that it was not a good idea to wander off (age 2.5).  The 4th of July BBQ/candy drop with the Hale's was super fun and the big kids enjoyed the waterfight.  The celebrity guest was Brandon as Donald Trump and he did a great job as usual.  We never get many pictures, because carrying cell phones with you at this party is too risky - you never know when you are going to get soaked!  We ended the weekend outside the Stadium of Fire fireworks with both sides of the family and it was so fun to have everyone in one place.

No words - Tyson & Brandon

Obviously the nails are important part of the holiday!