4th of July Festivities

It's so fun having the 4th of July on a Monday, cuz then you get the whole weekend to celebrate! We had a fun day on Saturday the 2nd...starting with shopping at Old Navy, then heading to Ikea for a few little gadgets, then making our way down to Lindon for a picnic in the park. It was a "San Jose Reunion" for people who used to live in San Jose, CA...which we did until 1996, but I didn't know anyone there. At least my mom, Grandma and all my siblings went too, so we had a nice time eating pizza and letting the kids play, and visiting with the people that my mom and sisters knew. There was a balloon guy making balloon creations for the kids, and Cami loved her purple and pink heart flower. (I think that above picture was after Cami had already pooped her pants, after which I quickly discovered and had to change/clean her in the hot stuffy park bathroom. Blugh.) It was 100 degrees that day...quite warm.

From there, we went to Provo to our designated spot on University Avenue to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks. It's become a fun tradition! David saved a good spot on the grass, we all took lawn chairs, blankets and snacks, and waited for the show to start. Here's Jake and his cheesey grin!

Cami watched longingly as Matt and Bryan played with sparklers. She'll be old enough next year!

Cute little Ari and Cam with 2 of their favorite people- Bree and Cassity!

Love Cam's smile in this one!

When the show finally started, Cami and Ari hid their heads in fear! Cami clung to Dad for a minute, then went to sit on Grandma's lap but faced backwards at first. Curiosity got the best of her, though!

And pretty soon, she was so into it, she was oohing and ahhing along with the best of em!

Her little finger was up, pointing at every one, while she excitedly said things like "That one looks like a slide! That looks like an ice cream cone! Like bugs! Like fire, hot hot!" It was cute to see her imagination working overtime.

Church was awesome on Sunday. It was fun to sing the National Anthem so vigorously in Sacrament, for one thing. And it was my first Sunday since being released as the Primary 2nd Counselor (which I was sad about- I loved it!). I got to go to Sunday School for the first time in a few years, and then on to Young Women where I'm a new advisor. I'm excited, it's a fun new opportunity and a chance to feel like a teen again!

Cute Daddy daughter pic.

Love her face.

And this cute little dress from Grandma!

HAHA this picture just makes me laugh. It was right before we went to the West Jordan parade on the 4th.

It was crazy crowded, and sprinkling rain, but a fun experience.

Here's our cute stake bee float, which all the primary kids made plastic bees to decorate it with. Cami, of course, was scared of the bee costumes.

I made a fruit salsa to take to my Grandma Willes's BBQ that day. I got the recipe from Our Best Bites, my new favorite cooking website by two cute Mormon moms. The salsa was yummy and summery...just picture it all mixed together in a bowl with a little sugar, honey, and lime juice. Mmmmm.

We ate it with homemade cinnamon sugar tortilla chips, also from Our Best Bites. They're super easy- just flour tortillas baked with butter, cinnamon and sugar to a yummy crispiness. I already want to make both these recipes again!

The girls had fun in Great Grandma Willes's backyard, running around with cousins and getting messy from all the food. That's a pickle in Cami's hands that she sucked on for about a half hour. Gross!

Fun on the hammock with my little cousin Shea, and Bryan, Matt, Ari and Cam. We had fun visiting, and then Cam and I slept over at Grandma's house so that I could join in on the game playing fun that night. Yay for Hand and Foot and Quirkle! Jake wasn't there cuz he had to work the Real Salt Lake game, so we missed him. But it was fun to enjoy the day of family, food and fun!