Happy Fourth!

Most of the time, we spend the Fourth of July in either North Ogden or Ashland.  This year, with Asher just out of surgery, we stayed at home for the holiday.  In the morning, instead of going to a parade, we stayed at home and had our own kids parade in the cul-de-sac.  We invited our friends the Kojimas over, and the kids all decorated their bikes and scooters with flags, streamers, flowers and made three-point hats while eating some star sugar cookies and drinking lemonade.  When everyone was ready, they all rode around the cul-de-sac in their own parade.

 

Can you tell James liked his sugar cookie?

     

Landon took his flag and ran around the cul-de-sac as fast as he could.  James then wanted to do it too, so he took his flag off his scooters so he could run around too.

   

Leela loves to say hi to “Afer”

   

   

Once Shane got out the bike trailer, James decided he wanted to ride in there instead of on his scooter.  Leela soon joined him, and they had a great time sitting in the back, yelling, “Faster!” as Shane biked around.

 

After our parade, we had lunch and relaxed in the afternoon until going over to Kojimas for a barbecue.  I made the traditional flag cake, which always brings back memories of the first 4th of July Shane and I spent together, when a huge wind came through Provo canyon and blew dirt all over our cake for our 4th of July picnic.  Kara had made us some delicious food, and then the kids roasted marshmallows at their fire pit.

     

After dinner, we went to Tigard to watch the fireworks.  We didn’t want to go to the high school or park right next to it because we didn’t feel like being in the crowds, especially with Asher.  Instead, we parked at a church near there, and walked over to the golf course.  It was the perfect spot, and we were able to get out and home quickly after.  The fireworks are always my favorite part of the fourth.  The boys loved them too, and when they finally started, they were exclaiming after each one.  James commented the most, and said he loved the “raining” ones, the “O” ones, and even exclaimed that one was “a flower with bees all around it.”  He had a description for every firework for about the first ten minutes of the show.  He asked if he could go in the boomer (his word for fireworks).  We’re not sure if he thought the fireworks were rockets going off or what exactly he meant by going in the boomer.  It was a great way to end the day.