4th of July

My favorite holiday has come and gone, yet again.  We had so much fun celebrating the 4th of July with family this year. 
Casey decided to run the Freedom 5K again this year.  He decided to push Mason in it this year.  On the morning of the 4th of July, we woke Mason up around 5:45 to get him in his 4th of July outfit and ready to go.  He was a little groggy at first, but as soon as he got to ride in my parents van he was just fine.  My dad, Amy, Weston, Lin, Justin, Garrett, Casey, and Mason all ran in the Freedom 5K.  They did a great job and had a great time.

After the race we met up with everyone at the parade spot and watched the Provo 4th of July parade.  As usual we ate donuts and snacks while watching the parade. 

Tanner pretty much slept through the whole parade.

Tanner and Mason in their matching outfits.

After the parade, Mason was so tired that he fell asleep
 in the stroller as I was pushing him back to the car. 

After the parade we went to the Sno Cone shack for some delicious snow cones.  Then we came back home to put the boys down for naps before we continued our celebrating later that evening.

At 5:30 we went to our annual 4th of July BBQ at the Crandall's.  We had a great time eating delicious food, playing games, and tying quilts for Primary Children's hospital. 

The party ended around 9:00.  Casey and I decided to just come back to our house and do a few sparklers, since Mason was a little scared of fireworks.  When we got home the neighbors across the street were doing a little firework show, so we sat on our porch and watched them.  At first Mason was a little nervous about the fireworks, but by the end of the night he enjoyed watching them as long as he was able to sit on Casey's lap. 

The next morning, Saturday, we decided to take Mason and Tanner to watch the hot air balloons in Provo.  Mom and dad came to pick us up around 6:30.  Mason was loving every minute of the hot air balloons.  He couldn't stop pointing and saying wow.  We had a great time watching the balloons. 

That afternoon we went over to the Mecham's for another 4th of July BBQ.  Casey's mom called and told us to make sure to bring Mason's swimming suit so Mason could play in the irrigation water.  The water was a little cold so Mason only played in it for a little bit, but Casey and his brothers had a blast in it.  I stayed on the sidelines and watched over Tanner. 

That night Amy and Jared invited everyone over for a "small" firework show.  The Hess' sure know how to throw a firework show.  I was a little nervous about how Mason would do, since just days earlier he was screaming and crying whenever a firework would go off.  Mason did surprisingly well as long as he was right next to Casey. 

The next day was Sunday.  By the time Sunday rolled around our boys were totally exhausted.  We went to Merilee and Garrett's for dinner.  It was a perfect way to end such a perfect 4th of July week.