Fourth of July Fun

This fourth of July was different than any we have had before. We usually spend the day with family, but the rest of Jonathon's family was out of town at the family reunion, so we were on our own. It was strange to just be doing our own thing, but we ended up having a great time. I am not very good at being spontaneous, so our completely spontaneous day felt like a big win for us!

Hyrum woke up early in the morning and came down to our room. Since we were already up, we decided to head to the hot air balloon fest in Provo that started at 6:30 am. I had never been before, and the last time the boys had tried to go, the weather was too bad to even blow up the balloons, so we were curious about it. We quickly woke up Andrew, got dressed, and hopped in the car. When we arrived, there were tons of people milling around, but no balloons blown up. We heard rumors that they were not going to be able to lift off because of wind at higher altitudes. We waited for several more minutes, and then suddenly, some of the balloons began to inflate. Over the course of the next 30 minutes, 15-20 hot air balloons inflated. It was really neat to watch the process and see all of the vibrant colors and shapes as they slowly filled up. They weren't able to launch, but watching them inflate was such a cool experience! I loved it and would like to go again sometime.

When we were done at the balloons, I suggested that we stay for the parade since we were already downtown. We drove down south a little way to get away from the big crowds and found a nice place along University Ave. It was a really nice day, and the temperature was very mild, so we didn't have to worry about the extreme heat that usually accompanies the 4th of July. We had a few minutes to wait before the parade started, so Jonathon and Andrew went for a walk to go get some donuts from our favorite place, Provo Bakery.

When they returned, we ate donuts and watched the parade. The highlight for me was when Chuck Norris passed by in a carriage. Cue all the jokes! (My favorite: Death once had a near-Chuck experience!) I was caught off guard by his appearance, so I didn't get a picture, but I thought it was pretty cool that he was the Grand Marshal of the Provo Freedom Festival.

When the parade was over, we headed home. Jonathon passed a firework stand and suggested that we have a barbecue and do some fireworks. So, we stopped and picked up some hamburger buns and a big pack of fireworks. That afternoon we played cornhole and other games before having our hamburgers. Hyrum was exhausted and fell asleep early, so we only did a few fireworks and saved the rest for the next night. Overall, it was a really wonderful holiday. It was different than usual, but also very relaxed and super enjoyable!