4th of July

For the last couple of years Ryan and I have gone out to Payson Lakes for a 4th of July picnic with my family. We went out again this year and it was a great day! It was beautiful out and we just enjoyed eating and relaxing and walking around the pond. A lot of people swim there, and even though I hadn't planned on me or Ryan or Thomas going swimming, Thomas had other ideas! He wanted in the water so bad, so eventually Ryan ended up getting in the water with him, clothes and all. I didn't have any swim diapers, so we stripped Thomas to his diaper at first, but man was that thing sagging! I couldn't believe how much it absorbed! So eventually we took it off and just put his shorts back on. I didn't bring any extra clothes or anything, so we did the best we could and borrowed my mom's towels. I kept Thomas' shirt dry so he had that to ride home in, but Ryan rode home totally wet--socks, shoes, shorts, shirt--poor guy! It was fun seeing Thomas play in the water though...he had a great time!

My family brought our black lab Lucky along and she did some swimming too. She was bushed afterward!

Here's some cute pics of Tommy before he took a swim...I love these expressions I managed to catch on camera!

Cute messy face!

Here's my arm-out-front photo gallery of me with my baby, my hubby and my lovely mom.

After Payson Lakes we drove back to our house and my family came over for the rest of the evening. We took turns riding our four-wheelers up in the hills across the street from us...we live up on the West bench of the mountain and there are several trails really closeby. Ryan and I ended up taking quite a long ride, just the two of us, while my family stayed with Thomas. We rode clear up to the top of the mountain, overlooking the valley. It was getting dark as we rode up, and when we got there we saw the most amazing fireworks show! We could see every major fireworks display in Utah Valley and even some over in Salt Lake Valley! It was a gorgeous panoramic view...I wish so bad that I would have had my camera or video camera with me, but they probably wouldn't have worked very well in the dark anyway.

Here's a photo I found online of Provo at night...our view was similar to this, but of the whole valley, with beautiful fireworks shooting up all over the place!


After Ryan and I got back from our ride we did fireworks in the street. Thomas was already in bed, so I felt bad that he was missing it, but I saved a bunch of my good fireworks for his upcoming birthday. My brothers Travis and Jared had fun putting on the show and I lit a few fountains. Our friends and neighbors the Ruby's ended up stopping by for awhile with some of their family to visit and watch our fireworks. Then my mom busted out some brownies to cap off the evening...it was a great Fourth of July!

I am very proud to be an American, and I'm so grateful for this free land that we live in. I try to imagine how amazed the first Americans would be if they could have seen what this country would become, because of their sacrifice. I'm grateful for all the people who still serve and fight for America today. I love my country!