Happy Birthday America!

That's what the kids said all Saturday after we reviewed what the 4th of July is all about. We had a busy, wonderful day celebrating our country's independence. I found myself setting the alarm, which shouldn't be allowed on a holiday, to have enough time for a special breakfast before we headed out to the parade. We planned on relaxing afterward at the parent's house to swim and BBQ. I really wanted to find a decent firework show close by, but we opted to stay home because everyone was pretty beat by then. It was still a great day!

One of my fond memories of 4th of July as a kid is Grandma Payne's Old Glory Pancakes. Basically, they are buttered pancakes sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, rolled and lined up on a platter, then lined on top with a row of cherry pie filling, sour cream, and blueberry pie filling. We had a few variations like whipped cream instead of sour cream or different fruit, but that is how I remember them most. I realized that my kids had no idea what Old Glory pancakes were, so this year I had to change that. We got up early to make our version and everyone loved them. Since we are a mostly non-dairy home, we used non-dairy whipped cream in place of sour cream. I decided the kids would like fresh fruit instead of pie filling (it's not my favorite either), so we had strawberries and blueberries. Toby took one bite and said, "Mmmmmmm! These taste like Snickerdoodles!" He's right, they kinda did. It is positively a tradition that must be carried on! Naturally, all calories consumed on a holiday are free anyway.

Silly Logan is usually moving so fast and trying so hard to keep up with his older siblings that he rarely has a quiet moment. While he sat down to eat his pancakes he looked at me and said, "Mom, this is the best day ever! I am having so much fun!" He kept saying that all morning. I think he felt the excitement and sweet spirit in our home that morning that I felt as well. Toby and Jessie expressed it in their own way too, by playing God Bless the USA 10+ times in a row and singing at the top of their lungs. I'm sure we woke up a few neighbors.

So we had some drama and set-backs trying to get Jessie to the staging area for the parade on time while still making it there with the rest of the kids. Jessie got to ride on the Little League "float," a big truck/trailer, so we needed to get her there by 9 AM. When I say set-backs, I mean Dave didn't think to go the back way and got stuck in mega traffic ON the parade route right before they closed it. He planned on dropping J and coming back home to ride bikes with the boys. He didn't make it, so it was up to me to hurry out to the parade route with the rest of the kids. We live up the street from the route this year, which switches districts in the city every year. I had the wagon packed with snacks, camera and Sydney already, so I threw our chairs on the pile, tied them on so they wouldn't squish Syd, and gave the boys the go ahead to start riding their bikes quickly while I pulled the wagon. Our ward was going to meet at one intersection to watch the parade together. That intersection was 5+ blocks away, and we had 20 minutes to get there on back roads. We totally made it right before the parade started, and I burned off all those calories from breakfast that didn't count anyway. ;)This boy was not sure about the whole parade thing this year. The only one he has seen in the past was the superhero parade at Six Flags last 4th of July and it was wimpy. He finally warmed up until the ghoulish pirates scared the pants off him at the very end. Sydney, too, was a little unsure about the parade. It took her 15 minutes to feel comfortable with all the strange things passing by, especially the bands. By the end she was sitting down and waving flags at everyone, except the pirates. We covered her eyes for those creepy people.

The parade was longer, and I little better than I expected. I have high expectations for what a good 4th of July parade should be after attending many Freedom Festivals in Utah. While our "Spirit of the Springs" themed parade (Warm Springs hosted the parade this year) was a fun event to start the day, it certainly didn't compare to the grand scale of parade I remember. We had a few marching bands, balloons, floats, cars and service vehicles, but the rest was eh, so-so. It is funded by sponsors and volunteers now, because the city it too broke to fund it anymore, so I can understand the small scale. Jess was happy to be in the parade, but later realized that she kinda missed out seeing all the other entrants. I missed having her there with us, too. The highlights for us were;
the Mister- the old F100 trucks
Me- the bagpipes, the veterans, and the old cars
Jess- riding up on the float with her friend Katelyn and getting treats/bubbles after
Toby- the Vikings and the Pirates of Emerson (local Haunted House) ship
Logan- eating watermelon and high-fives from Sharky (San Jose Sharks Hockey) and SpongeBob
Sydney- the dogs being walked by the 4H group (she got up and started following them down the street)
I was kind of on celebration autopilot that day until, towards the beginning of the parade, a big extended-cab truck decorated to the nines rolled by in the parade. It was the family of a local serviceman that was recently killed in Iraq. The truck was followed by members of other families walking with pictures in memorial of sons, husbands, and friends also killed in action during our current war with Iraq/Afghanistan. A huge wave of gratitude and thankfulness hit me at that moment as I remembered why we were all gathered that morning. So many have given the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms in America, and we are forever indebted to their bravery and service. A few vintage trucks and military vehicles carrying older veterans from various wars rolled by soon after and we made sure to cheer and clap for those men just as loud. I want my kids to know and remember how important our freedoms set forth by our God-fearing Founding Fathers are, and that these brave men and women who serve in the military should be respected for their part in upholding those freedoms. I know God watches over us and blesses us when we are faithful to His commandments. We cheered extra loud for all those in uniform that day.We all helped decorate the kids bikes and the wagon for maximum patriotic-ness as we rode to and from the parade. It's amazing how many people comment to me about how cute my twin boys are. They are 26 months apart. I must admit watching them ride their spiffed-up bikes to the parade with matching red shirts and buzz cuts I almost thought they were twins. They certainly got everyone's attention as we made our way to meet friends.

After the parade, we spent the day at Dave's P's house to swim, talk and eat fabulous food with family and friends. A huge thanks to my in-laws for opening their home to us and a bunch of friends. We always have a wonderful time swimming and hanging out on the back deck when we are there. The food was fabulous as well. I have been craving kabobs and Dave Sr. was happy to oblige on the grill. We ate beef and chicken kabobs, coleslaw, fresh corn, beans and rice, and lots of watermelon and cherries. Great-Gram made some scrumptious dessert and the kids ate double helpings after swimming so long all day. We even splurged and bought all different kinds of soda, a very rare occurrence at our house. Hey, if the calories were free all day, we were going to go all out.

Happy Birthday America! We hope everyone had a wonderful, safe day!