4th of July

The 4th in Provo is absolutely AMAZING! We live in one of the most patriotic and beautiful cities around and Provo knows how to do the 4th right. Growing up in Modesto there was only one "big" firework show to see each year at a baseball field downtown. That was about it. When I moved to Utah I couldn't believe the huge celebrations that lasted the entire week. There is a very big sense of community here and celebrating our country all together. It is Chase's favorite holiday and we party hard every year. He isn't always home on the 4th but this year he was!

We did our first ever Freedom Run that morning as a family. Chase got off duty Just in time to head to the race.

The kids were super excited. Can you tell Brielle is about to growl at Beckham here for putting his arm around her? Can't you feel the sisterly love in this picture? We ran the 5K and paired off. Chase and Brielle ran together and Beckham and I ran together.

I was so proud of both of them. Beckham and I did a lot of running/walking and he tried his very hardest. It was fun to see everyone out on their lawns, setting up for neighborhood BBQ's and getting ready for the parade. Brielle PR'd in this 5K (it was her 3rd) and made it in 28 minutes! She knocked 4 min off her time from the school 5k! The kids were both super sore the next day and complaining about walking up and down the stairs 😂.

I love decorating for holidays but keep it simple. I was excited for my Gerber daisies.

I also love making this patriotic fruit pizza each year. I guess it has turned into tradition. This year we invited friends over to BBQ at our house.

It is also tradition to hang with The Robins every 4th of July! They are my best friends from the college days and we have remained close through the years. We usually end up at their house each year for a BBQ but invited them to our house this year. Whenever Chase works on the 4th the kids and I are always with The Robins to celebrate. Im so grateful for their friendship and how much they have always been there for me over the years.

It was also our first year taking the kids inside Stadium of Fire. We usually ride our bikes down and sit outside the stadium to watch the fireworks. This year it was such a fun experience to take them inside. Keith Urban was the headliner and he was incredible! The line to get inside the stadium was insanely long and we ended up cutting in line somewhere so we wouldn't miss the show ( I feel kind of bad about that but no one noticed because it was so crazy). I wish I had taken a picture of all the lines to get in and all the chaos. There was no direction or organization to it. We have never seen that happen before! 

Beckham was happy with his snow cone.

Brielle was pumped for her Oreo churro.

We ended up sitting with Jeff, his kids and their friends. He had extra seats and they were way better than ours. Its always fun to sit with friends! Its also cool that Jeff and Aiden's birthdays are on the 4th!

Jeff's two girls Kennedy and Addie and their friend.

And the night ended with the biggest stadium fire work show in the U.S.! We got home and kids to bed around 11:30pm. We woke up at 6:00 am for the run. We definitely all slept soundly in our beds. Im so grateful for my freedom and the country I live in. Im so grateful for all of those before me and those today that put their lives on the line to keep our country FREE. Its easy to complain about first world problems, but when you look at the big picture and all the heartache and terror in the world, we have it pretty dang good. I don't know how I got so blessed to live this life, in this country, in this city, in this neighborhood, with this family and these friends, but I did. I try and be grateful to my Heavenly Father every day for all of the goodness and beauty around me each day.