Fourth 2017

This year's Fourth of July was fairly low-key. Last year I caught the parade, and then went to Ikea since I had just closed on my home. This year I didn't even make it to the parade - I was hooked on finishing The Handmaid's Tale (and I had to make potato salad).

I went over to my friend Stephanie's home to have lunch. We grilled chicken and corn on the cob, and with my potato salad we had a pretty fabulous lunch. We chatted and played the game of "Life". The game has changed a bit since I played it as a kid! Less career options, more interested in having the players do things during actions cards (dance, tell an embarrassing story, etc.). I was a lawyer with a ranch (and a husband and no kids). Steph, however, lived a very exciting life, starting out first as a farmer, then going to night school to become a teacher, losing that job for bringing a cat to school, then becoming a brains surgeon only to be fired for sleeping on the job. She ended her career as a musician and climbed Mount Everest.

Then I joined up with my friend Suzi, her boyfriend and his friend to see the fireworks at Apogee Stadium here in Denton. Unfortunately, it wasn't the most spectacular firework show. The music choices were odd (anything with the word America, USA or freedom in it was chosen), and the how itself consisted of a lot of single fireworks. The finale came out of nowhere and wasn't impressive. Next year I'll have to make actual plans.

First Fourth in Texas

The Fourth of July is my most favorite holiday. It's a birthday celebration (which I also love) on the national level - Happy Birthday, America! It isn't stressful like Christmas, where you have/feel obligated to buy presents for others, or question if you are keeping "Christ in Christmas." It really is Food, Fun, Family, Friends and Fireworks!

I started my Fourth off with the Liberty Run 5k at North Lakes Park. Now, I've ran 5ks before, however I still chose to wear cotton. Heavy cotton. I was not a happy camper. Also, I have not run since April. And I'm  not nearly in the shape I used to be in when that wasn't really a problem. So a disproportionate amount of my time was spent walking. However, when one of my favorite songs came up in my playlist I was motivated. I really just wanted to start dancing.

I got home just in time for the parade, which goes right through downtown (I happen to live downtown). I spent many Fourths in Moroni, UT with my grandma and grandpa and extended family. The parade there always included floats with the "royalty" from the surrounding towns; I even had cousins who were on those floats. In Denton, we get "Frackula" and Texas pride (every event is an event to show your pride for Texas).

 

 

I love Denton so much. 

I then hit up a movie (which I will write about later), and then took a nap before heading to Frisco to meet up with friends from work for dinner and an FC Dallas soccer game. It was my first live soccer game. It was fun, but I was really just there for the after-game fireworks. Which were amazing.

It was a really great day. However, I always tend to miss my family most on holidays. Good thing I'll be with them in Salt Lake City on Pioneer Day.

Baseball, Fireworks and Goodbyes

Royals game in the cold Friday night. The fireworks and company made it worth it. Leo and Andrew are both graduating from KU this weekend and will be leaving us. It's hard saying goodbye to friends.

Scott, Paige, Leo and Janae

 

Tomas took a nap during the game, so we naturally took photos

                                                Me, Tomas, Andrew, Leo, Paige, Scott, Janae

Happy Fourth

A few pics from my fabulous Fourth:

 

Celebrating America

How Independence Day was celebrated:

Family



Parade in Murray:


Food:

Fireworks:

Sparklers:

It was a super fun day filled with lots of fun things. The kids got tons of candy at the parade, I ate way too much food at our BBQ, my potato salad travesty of last year was rectified, the fireworks at the parade were awesome, and the slight rainfall as we lit sparklers refreshing and lovely. Happy Birthday America!

Peanuts and Crackerjacks

Saturday night I went to my very first Bees baseball game. For those not in the know (which sorta includes me, since I had to ask my friend) the Bees are the minor league Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Even though I am more of a sports fan than the average girl, I do not follow baseball at all. I think it's boring, it takes too long, and there are long stretches of nothing followed by spurts of exctiment (which my friend Jeff remarked is how life is).

But anything is automatically cooler when experienced live, as I was reminded of as I sat in Spring Mobile Ballpark, cheering on the players, clapping for Bumble, hoping to catch a flyball (which was nearly impossilbe as we were sitting behind homeplate and there's that net to protect fans), and participating in the best part of the game--the seventh inning stretch. I sang, "Take me Out to the Ballgame," at full capacity and loved the feeling of the entire ballpark singing together.

The game came down to the very end when, in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, a homerun was hit with a runner on first. Along with a very exciting fifth inning, those spurts of excitment were worth it. Oh, and there were fireworks after the game. I love fireworks. So all in all it was a lot of fun (except for the fact that my friend Jeff was feeling sick and had to leave before the seventh inning and missed a lot of the fun), and I find myself wanting to go to more games next season!

Pioneer Day

In Utah we get to celebrate two Fourths: the Fourth of July and the Twenty-Fourth of July. One we celebrate for gaining independence from Britain with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the other we celebrate the pioneers who crossed the plains to escape religious persecution. I'm very thankful for both and am glad that they both get such recognition.

I'm also glad that they both get parades, (I've been working downtown at the Salt Palace the last four days and got to see all the floats getting ready for the parade...)

and firework displays.

AMAZING!!!
The finale was Spectacular and I dare say even better than the ones on the Fourth. Thank you, Pioneers, for enduring hardships, trials, and death across the plains to create this wonderful city and state. And for the fireworks that commemorate your trek.

Floats, Food and Fireworks--Happy Fourth of July!!

I should also add the word Fun. The Fourth started bright and early with the Murray City parade down state street. Candy was thrown, which means of course the kids had a good time. I did too, as I ran out into the street to grab a piece of candy Ivy was too scared to get and was honked at, in good fun, by the approaching truck and jumped high enough for the entire crowd to get a good laugh. Ivy made sure everyone knew she was the only one who caught two necklaces, was handed a water bottle, and caught a bag of Doritos. I was just happy to see this float:

In case you can't tell, it's a float that encourages recycling. My brother laughed at me as I took the picture.

After a rousing game of Phase 10, while cranky Mo took a nap and Ivy and Elliett played, I came out victorious and we had food. My potato salad still isn't quite perfect (anybody want to share their recipe with me?), but we ate it with our hamburgers and hot dogs and it was all good. While our food settled the kids rode their scooters and I supervised, making sure no one went farther than the second bush. We even got in a little bit of swim time, where the one floaty donut was fought over and elicited more than a few tears from having to share.

All was forgotten, though, when we were on our way to Sugarhouse Park for some pretty darn spectacular fireworks. The people were many and the fireworks more so. I laid on my back there in the park, with Ivy right next to me (covering her ears) and the rest of my family near, and had these amazing fireworks going off right over my head and was happy. Pictures don't nearly do it justice, but I'll post some anyway. And the finale--Wow!


Happy Fourth of July! I love America and am grateful to live here. I have very happy and wonderful memories of spending the Fourth in Moroni with my grandma and grandpa and lots of aunts and uncles, and of my first and only Fourth in New York last year. Almost anything is better than the year I was stuck working til midnight and didn't get to see one single firework.

Also want to wish a Happy First Birthday to Dutch, my friend Pam's little guy. He was born last year on this great holiday and now every year on his birthday he gets the day off AND fireworks!

Fourth o'July

My first Fourth of July in the city was pretty good....except for the rain that barred me from going to Coney Island and watching the hot dog eating contest. I guess I could've still made the trek, but it's rain out here is not cool and refreshing. It's probably the exact opposite--hot and muggy and pretty much awful. So Mark, Maria and I played Settler's of Catan, which is pretty much the best game out there, next to Nerts and MadGab.

Maria was clearly sitting in the Winner's Chair because after totally creaming us in the first one she also went on to beat us in the we-have-to-play-again-to-prove-we're-not-awful second game.
Then it was off to a BBQ. Yes, a BBQ in the city. A girl in my ward who live just a few blocks up on 146th has an apartment on the first floor that includes a small backyard area. So we had a hot dogs from the grill, chips, fruit and goodies. The rain that had let up for the food-eating started up again just as we were getting ready to leave for the fireworks. Good thing I brought my umbrella.

We decided to watch the fireworks from Brooklyn. There was probably about fifteen us. We hopped onto the 1, transferred to the 3 at 96th street and rode it to the first stop, Clark Street, in Brooklyn.

It was still raining when we got out of the subway but thankfully not too hard. More of just a light sprinkle. There were tons of people at the Promenade. And it's not like watching fireworks in Salt Lake where people bring blankets and chairs and it's sort of relaxing. There's too many people for that so we all just stand. I won't complain about that or the rain because it was totally awesome and well worth it. Here are a few pictures.



The pictures don't really do it justice--they were AWESOME! And it went on for thirty minutes!! The rain was pretty much a moot point because, being a lover of fireworks, I was basically in nirvana. And the crowd was just as excited as me; we all clapped and oohed and aahed. Sometimes we would even cheer, and it was like all my inner excitement was being manifest in the people around me. What was really cool was watching the reflections of the fireworks in the buildings in Manhattan and all the smoke that eventually blocked the buildings as the fireworks went on. So did I mention that I totally loved it?!



The picture on the left is to show the rain on my shirt, and the non-flash one on the right is to show the Manhattan skyline from where we watched in Brooklyn. For how much I loved it I feel I must also profess my love for sitting on my Grandma's porch in Moroni, Utah and watching fireworks; I got a little nostalgic for it and the firemen-served breakfast while I was standing in the crowd of mostly strangers watching the fireworks

The subway ride home was a little crazy. We even waited a little while before leaving so to miss some of the crowd. But the subway entrance was kinda small and has an elevator that takes riders from the turnstiles to the trains. Policemen were there to help facilitate it all and it was actually quite easy. But then the train started going local, then express after we finally reach Times Square and then we stopped for what seemed like twenty minutes...while three (!) local 1 trains passed us. The train was completely crowded by this point, but since we had gotten on in Brooklyn we thankfully had seats. The train finally started moving again, and this is one of the reason why I love New York, we all started clapping and cheering and someone yelled out "Happy Birthday America!"

Park Perks

There are moments when I forget I'm in this crazy city when I'm in Central Park. The park is the place to go for reading, walking, relaxing, eating, running, watching, having a picnic, anything you want to do. And that's even more so when it's summer. Yes, it can feel over-populated at times, but it's generally well worth it.

And that's how it was last night when Stefanie and I and some people from the ward made the trek to the Great Lawn and listened to the New York Philharmonic....for free! It was totally amazing! Stefanie and I got there a little late (I thought it was at Sheep's Meadow, but it clearly wasn't there and we had to trek up to around 81st) and had to try to find our group among the thousands of people there. Well, it's maybe not thousands, but the Great Lawn is huge; it's home to three baseball fields so maybe that gives you some perspective. And we had to find one tiny group in all those people with the only help being that they had a bunch of black, brown and a Happy Birthday balloon to mark them. So we had to snake our way around people and their blankets and food; some people really went all out, bringing small tables with candles and wine and glasses and plates and real food.

This is what we brought...


And man were they good. They almost rivaled the homemade chocolate pudding with whip cream that someone else brought.

Stefanie and I and the group we sat with:


And want to know the coolest part of the night? Yes, the 1812 Overture was pretty cool, as was The Stars and Strips and Purple Haze, but it was nothing compared to the fireworks that were put on display after the concert. I'm no classical music buff but I sure am a fireworks buff, and man did they look cool going off above the park and city! I can't wait for the Fourth!