Our Fifth 4th of July

Fourth of July is by far my favorite holiday! (Easter is also a favorite, but I think I love the 4th even more).

It's the holiday of pancake breakfasts, concerts in the park, red white and blue parades, summer sweat, national anthems, historical reverence, BBQ's, watermellon, fireworks, homemade ice cream, family and cousins, and that intangible thrill in the air of pure summer joy and American pride...never to be squelched by the falsehood of a fictitious character or pagan tradition. So forgive me if I get a little nostalgic.

Our first 4th (2006) was spent in Utah shortly after we were engaged. We ate pancakes in the street, watched the parade with Jeremy's family, strolled around the craft fair on main street, and took a nap in a park near my apt. We also introduced both of our parents to each other! That was a big moment, very successful. Our families played football together and we watched fireworks from Squaw Peak. (no making out though, cuz our parents were there). We also went to Great-Grandma June's 90th B-day hosted by Uncle Jim's family. Perhaps one of my favorite 4ths ever.

The second 4th (2007) was spent in Austin, Minnesota, cuz we were living there while Jeremy did his internship for Hormel Foods. We entertained all the kids in our ward by collecting fireflies at the town party. The firework show was accompanied by the city band playing on the park stage. For sure one of my favorite 4ths ever.

Our third 4th (2008) took place in Huntington Beach. It too, was perhaps one of my favorite 4th's ever. You can read more details here.

Our fourth 4th (2009) was also in Huntington Beach. We took Ashlea to the parade on our new bikes. We ate lunch at Wahoo Tacos, spent the day on Main Street and the beach. We watched fireworks at the pier again. The bike ride home in the dark with all of the bonfires was really cool. I was having too much fun to take pictures. This was one of my favorite 4th's ever.

How weird to think that it's now our fifth 4th of July together (2010)!! This year, we drove up to Sacramento for the Great-Grandma June Family Reunion hosted by Grandpa Bob. WOW!! This was FOR SURE one of my favorite 4ths ever! (can you tell that I love the 4th of July?!)

On Friday, we went golfing with 9 people from the family. I was the only girl and I rocked!! We played "best ball" and competed as teams. It's now my favorite way to play golf. Matt entertained us the rest of the day with guitar hero, pool basketball and Godfather's pizza. Then, we all cuddled outside with the cousins for an outdoor movie night.

Saturday was filled with really fun get-to-know-you games and competitions that MomZ organized. Highlights included relays and egg toss. We visited, ate, visited, and played more games. Dinner was at the church with a special night of Davidson Family Feud and Aunt Sheri's famous "Great-Grand Mom" song that I've had stuck in my head since the first time we heard it 4 years ago. Then we had a special firework show with homemade ice cream in Suzie's back yard. We only got attacked by the fireworks 3 times!

Sunday, we went to church and visited with family. We drove back home and made it in time for our third year in a row of watching the Huntington Beach firework show from the pier. It was a perfect way to end the BEST weekend of the year!