Of course there is a post on the festivities. Holidays give ocassion for people to get together and party, which also lends to being something worth blogging about. :) So here's a run-down of our day.

After kind of a late night riding, we got up way too early. We met at Monarch Honda at 7am with the Honda Riders Club to head down to Provo High. In all my years doing the evil Freedom Festival Parade (it's not the worst - that's Nephi - but it's still not a favorite...granted, no parade is a favorite...dumb parades), I never knew there was a PRE-parade at 8! I guess they figure there are way too many people with no lives who camp out on the street to get prime spots for the real parade that they would entertain them with a pre-parade. So we did that.

Afterward, we (meaning I) decided to stay to watch the grand parade. I still wanted to support/see/yell at White Peaks. We went to park, and as we were walking back, we found my aunt, uncle, and cousins. They let us use two of their camping chairs. It was nice to hang out with family. WP was of course near the end (lame), so we watched the whole parade. I was thinking how much more fun it would be if I had a little kid to hold and point things out to. Kids are the cutest. They are my favorite to watch when I go past them in parades.

As for the parade itself, it was pretty cool. It is definitely still one of the best parades for spectating. There are actual attractions, not just politicians and business advertising. (One year at Saratoga Springs was especially bad. I thought the art of parades was dying.) The weather wasn't too bad, either. It was cloudy and stayed cool. Granted, it did rain some, but we survived. Nothing like at the SL games. Did I blog about that? Talk about torrential downpour.

After the parade, we came home and crashed. I didn't nap for nearly as long as Matt did, so I took some time to play Sacred 2. Once Matt finally woke up and got ready, we headed to Matt's parents' for some festitivities. We stopped in Spanish Fork to look at a development we're interested in, too.

A lot of the family we haven't seen a whole lot of were there, so that was really nice. We got to hang out and talk for awhile, then eat and talk some more. Then Grandpa Hadfield gave a lesson about the birth of our country as well as our church. He reiterated the events surrounding and following the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum's deaths. After the lesson, we sat around singing various songs. I am so blessed to have such amazing in-laws.

After that, it was time for fireworks! It is decided that if/when Matt and I ever need to actually purchase our own fireworks, we are spending the money to get the larger ones. They are actually worth watching. Matt's uncle Brian also doctored some of the lame little ones by attaching like 5 flowers. That made them worth watching, too. Even though it was cold and again a little rainy, we had a grand time.

After visiting for awhile more, we stopped at Walmart for some necessities and then crashed again at home. :)