4th Of July...

We had a really nice 4th this year. I was thinking of what we've done for America's Birthday since we've been married and, sad to say, it has been pretty uneventful. So uneventful, in fact, that I can only remember last year. We were flying home with a 13-day-old baby. And when I tell most people we flew over fireworks across the whole country, they are usually awed. But it's really not that cool...from 30,000 feet, fireworks just seem like tiny dots of color.

But this year was totally awesome in terms of fireworks. Well, the whole day was pretty much "tops" (that's for you, Savannah). We had a barbecue with some of our amazing neighbors. I marinated chicken overnight in our Chivetta's sauce and it was AMAZING. So after the chill lunch-time barbecue, Zac and I got to go out to the movies. We were a little sad because all of our babysitters have moved (Dani) or are out of state for the summer (Liz and Sav). But my cute friend Ashley came through and babysat so Zac and I went and saw Wall-e. It was ADORABLE!

So after the movie, we came home to a happy little baby who was totally geared up for some firework watching.
For those of you who have never spent the 4th of July in Provo, let me tell you. It's a huge deal. Provo hosts the biggest parade in the state...nay, the western half of the United States. People literally camp out over night on the side of the road to get a good seat. There's big balloons (like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade balloons), floats, and your other typical parade stuff. And in addition to the parade, the BYU football stadium plays host to the annual "Stadium of Fire" which is basically an amazing concert followed by a decent fireworks display. This is also a huge deal. Last year American Idol winner Taylor Hicks was the headliner. This year, in addition to the Blue Man Group, was none other than Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) herself. Like I said, HUGE deal. But I digress...
So we wandered down toward the stadium to try and get a prime spot for firework viewing. This was difficult on many levels. First, there are lights everywhere (the joys of living in a city). Street lamps, parking lot flood lights, and traffic lights were hard to avoid. The second problem was that everyone in Provo had the same idea we did so there were people everywhere. But aside from that, we got down fairly close to the stadium. We even ran into some friends that we hung out with until the fireworks started. I was a little worried that we were so close...I thought the noise would freak Logan out. But much to my surprise, he just hung out on the blanket between us and watched the fireworks right over our heads. Didn't even flinch.

He fell sound asleep on the walk home and we called it a night. So Happy Birthday, America! Thanks for giving us a day off of work and an excuse to play with explosives!