Fourth of July Fun

The 4th of July in Provo is pretty awesome. We decided to take advantage of all the 'Freedom Festival' festivities that we could.

• Early Friday morning we went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival. We brought breakfast, sat on a blanket and watched the balloons inflate and fly up into the air. Parker's favorite was Smokey the Bear.
• On Saturday, I ran the Freedom Run 5k with my good mission friend Katie. I was a little nervous because I hadn't really been running much, with all of the packing, moving, and unpacking. But once again, I ran the whole time and finished (a little slower than my first 5k though). My sister Jill ran the 10k and got a PR. She has been working on getting faster. It was fun to run the same race as her, although she has been running for 13 years and I am just starting. I did see Steve Young cross the finish line. And of course, I stalked him to get a picture. Paul, his sister Kim, Parker and Autumn watched the race from our front yard.
• Parker wanted to run in a race also. So we pinned my number on him and he ran down the street.
• Paul, Parker, Autumn, Kim and I headed down to the Parade. We had great seats in the shade. Parker loved the whole thing; the bands, the floats, the candy thowers, and the cars and trucks, he was excited to see Cosmo Cougar, just a little afraid, but he especially loved Smokey the Bear, who happened to be on one of the trucks.
  
  
  
  

After the parade, we drove up to Pocatello to spend the rest of the day with my brother, Andrew, and his family, my sister, Jill, and her family, and my brother Mark. We had a tasty BBQ and watched some good fireworks. My brother Andrew blessed his baby girl, Paige, on Sunday. We were so happy to be able to be there and be part of her special day. It is always fun to be together with family.