Welcome July....

Started off July with a fun pre-4th dinner party at Granny's in Brigham City.

 Wii Baseball

 A really adorable face Jason makes :)

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Nothing says Summer as much as the 4th of July does.....being sweaty, thirsty, tired, fighting crowds, keeping tired kids up late, helping them cover their ears, a neighborhood full of smoke and loud noises, spending a bunch of money on things that just blow up.....and still being hot. :)  I absolutely love what this holiday stands for but if it were up to me the traditions attached would be different.

But seeing my kids making these memories makes it all worth it.

Our pre-parade breakfast

 We spent most of the day with our good friends the Sorenson's again this year and it always makes the day more fun.  Love these cute parade-watching kids.  

 Poor Jason got a call the night before to replace a 100gallon water heater at an Olive Garden and he got home at like 4am but he still happily got up for the parade.

 The Hooper parade is very country-style....short, low key, not a big-grand float in sight, but quite charming. With the sun beating down and the kids sticky with parade taffy....I truly appreciate the small scale.

 Grady loving watching the Sheriffs Posse do little riding formations.

 They get so much candy!

 Trekking back to the car.  The parade was way more popular this year than last year and we got to trek through a very sticker-filled little field.  FYI, crocs and flip-flops dont keep long sticker thorns out of your feet....ouch! My feet are still tender from that little adventure!  All in the name of KIDS 4th of JULY MEMORIES. :)

 I love these little monkeys!  Enjoying some backyard shade....Jerrett's mouth still full of orange parade taffy.

 This year there was a dedication ceremony planned for the new Hooper Veterans Memorial.  We've been hearing about it and supporting fundraisers for it for the past few years and it was nice to see it get completed.  It's really nice....three big stones with names and photos, benches, WWII vets plaque, and two big naval deck guns.  Restoring the naval deck guns, flag pole, pouring concrete pad, etc. was all done by 5 Eagle Scouts from Hooper and they did such great work!  

 It's really a beautiful memorial area....I was very impressed.

 Austin, Jerrett, I went to the ceremony with our friends.  I thought the speakers were good and had some interesting stories to tell....my patriotism absolutely grew.  There were a few parts that really interested the kids but it was a little bit too long for them and we were again sitting in direct sun.  They saw parachute guys, balloons released, got cotton candy, and Steph took them to play on the shady playground when the program got a bit too long....so they were happy.

 Goal post flags :)

 Three parachuters landed and the last one brought down the flag.

 Very blurry picture but the kids were entranced by this sight.

 The concluding speaker, Senator Hatch and to his right, the community choir.

When President Reagan visited Hooper Park and 25,000 Utahn's in 1982...it was at the invitation of Senator Hatch.  They painted the bowery red, white, and blue for the ceremony just as they did for President Reagan's visit. It was very cute.

 Letting a balloon go for each Hooper Veteran.

 BBQ and playtime

 Ryan and their cute little min pinscher take care of the grill.

 Jason and Ryan....little pyros.

 A very smoky, noisy neighborhood. :)

 Had a fantastic arial firework show again this year from Jason and Ryan :)  Arials are awesome but kinda scary too!  We had one unpredictable blast that was a bit freaky but also had us laughing the rest of the night.

Jerrett and Maddie trying to make their teeth glow.....cutest little friends ever!

I survived another Happy 4th of July! :)