Red, White, and HOT

When the forecast for the 4th of July originally said 100+ degrees, I thought about ignoring the holiday all together.  Thankfully, the day only reached a high in the low 90's, which was almost tolerable.  

We started our morning at our Ward 4th of July Breakfast and Bike Rodeo. 

Aubree made the mistake of not eating before we left ("but it's a breakfast!") and was more than a little hungry by the time we finally sat down to eat after 10 am  (following a brief ceremony and flag raising, and waiting in a long line).  Everyone agreed that the meal was worth the wait.  One lady in our ward made fifty (50!!) loaves of cinnamon bread which was then used for french toast (in addition to the more standard fare of pancakes, fruit, and sausages).  Graham was the biggest eater of the day.  "More, more!" he begged.  

The older kids were more interested in eating quickly and moving on to the other activities.  Bryce hopped on his bike and rode and rode.  Aubree helped out with the face painting.  

Thane rode his plasma car, until he noticed one of the dad's was giving rides in his very cool miniature race car.  Then, he waited patiently in line until it was his turn for a loop around the parking lot.  Fun!

Following the breakfast, we spent the afternoon up at my sister's house.  The kids played and played, and did their favorite Katie's-house activity ("melty beads" aka Perler beads).  

They had an extra fun time out in the garage with Mark and Seth...

We stayed for a yummy BBQ dinner, complete with homemade ice-cream (a favorite 4th of July tradition).  We then came home and put the kids to bed at their regular bedtimes.  I know that makes us super not-fun parents, but everyone was fully exhausted.  Plus, it's been so hot and dry around here, that keeping track of the different local brushfires was a task that kept many adults quite occupied.  

Besides, perhaps I'm old and cranky (or just pregnant and cranky?), but the unceasing BOOMS continuing until the wee hours of the morning got really old.  I told Mark, "from now on, let's make sure we're out of town for the 4th."  Maybe I'll feel differently next year.  Maybe not.

Oh, and since this year the 4th fell on a Saturday, Mark also had Friday off of work, so we spent the morning at a nearby splash park.