Happy Birthday America!

Next to my birthday, our nation's birthday is one of my most favorite holidays. Since we have been married, our family traditions for this holiday have always entailed the Provo parade, tubing trip down the Provo river with my siblings (and sometimes my parents), and a barbecue at our home. For the grand finale we go with my parents and siblings to the Stadium of Fire concert and fireworks at Lavell Edwards Stadium. It is quite a spectacle that my parents have graciously indulged us in for many years now. But for the past two years we have been unable to go home for the 4th.

This year Richard and I spent the day in Washington DC with my cousins, KaDee and Robert. We went to the Fairfax, Va, parade where we saw men driving these cool mini cars. The clowns were also quite good. But my personal favorite was the Mexican dancers who had costumes of black velvet laced with bright purple trim and gold bells. I would display a picture of them, but I got caught up in the dancing and forgot to take pictures. So far it doesn't seem that anyone on the east coast has figured out what a float is, but this parade was way better than the Cherry Blossom parade we saw in April 2008 in DC. That has to be the worst parade I've ever seen.

After the parade we had a barbecue with KaDee and her family, where Robert introduced us to Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce. I don't know if they have this sauce out west, but it's fantastic. Not only does it taste great, but the story of how the sauce came about is quite interesting. After the barbecue we relaxed (Richard, Robert, and the kids watched Star Wars and Robert made his award-winning chili--it won his ward chili cookoff) until it was time to take off for the fireworks show.

Once we were in DC we decided to view the fireworks right in the heart of things. The fireworks were shot off right above/behind the Lincoln monument, so we found a great spot near the Washington memorial where the kids could roam. It wasn't exactly the prettiest evening (gray cloudy sky), but it was nice and cool. We parked only 1.5 blocks from the White House and took some pics before finding our seats.

We are sure glad KaDee and Robert moved out east just after we did. It has been such a blessing to spend time with them. We love hanging out with them and their kids (Bruce, Linda, Jane & Baby Claire).

While waiting for the fireworks Richard decided to entertain himself, I mean entertain the kids. :) He purchased glow-in-the-dark light sabers that kept him out of trouble.

Although it wasn't quite the Stadium of Fire, the fireworks were spectacular. I couldn't believe how well they were coordinated. The crowd cheered both when the fireworks started and when they ended. Apparently there were cannons going off at the same time as the fireworks. The buildings behind us created an echo that magnified the sound effects and created a double "boom." The car alarms went bazerk. The fireworks were done so well that Bruce asked if the beginning was the finale. Richard and I were also VERY impressed with the show!!!

Last year we went tailgating with our branch and watched the State College fireworks from Beaver Stadium, the largest stadium in the U.S. I must admit that I would recommend these fireworks as well. They do a really great job with them. But I feel so blessed to have spent the 4th of July in the nation's capital. Happy Birthday America! Although I miss all of the fun family traditions we created in Provo, I suppose that if I can't go home I might as well be in our nation's capital. Perhaps if I am not in Provo next year then I can convince Richard to take me to see the fireworks in New York City. But it might take me more than a year to coax him into that one.