July 4th 2014

 I finally made this fun wreath for my front door that I've been ogling on Pinterest for awhile.  I love how it turned out!

 Here it is on my front door.

 My holiday shelf

And book shelf decor.  

We didn't do too much for the holiday this year, since I had to work.  We went to breakfast in the canyon like always; this time Scott's aunt and uncle and cousin and her family joined us.  In the evening we went over to Stuart and Sallie's and joined them in watching the fireworks in their neighborhood.  It wasn't the funnest July 4th we've ever spent, but it was nice to spend time with family.

Balloons and Breakfast

 The Hot Air balloon festival was smaller than normal this year.  We went on the 5th, so maybe that's why.  The kids loved watching the huge balloons inflate and take off.  This is our 5th year going, and they don't get tired of seeing it.  Afterwards, we ate breakfast with Grandma under the trees.

Happy birthday America!

 We had our annual Henry Family Breakfast in the canyon again this year.  We were lucky and had Spencer and Alyson and Grace with us this year.  We get to have them for a year of holidays before they move again out of state.  Savannah and Chloe are the best of friends.  They are so lucky to have each other! I hope they remain close throughout their lives. Love Baker's expression in the background.

 Brothers and friends

 Waverly and Piper look more like sisters than cousins.  They both came out looking different, but like each other.  Must be Henry genes somewhere!

 What's breakfast without giant bubbles?  We haven't used them in a year, but they still worked great.

 Maybe even better than last year.  Several kids were able to get a giant bubble out of them.

 We didn't intend on matching everyone this year, but as it turned out, everyone had an outfit except for Brighton and Savannah.  4 hours of shopping later, we grabbed the only red and white shirt Kmart had to offer that Savannah didn't poopoo.

 Boston was enthralled with Maggie the dog.  He kept trying to suck on her tags.  She is such a patient, kind dog.  She just put up with it and he eventually got it.

 Can you tell which of my children is not liking me at this moment?  Said child was shot down for a playdate with a cousin that afternoon.  Aren't they all so cute?

 America's Sweetheart.  Isn't she cute?

 These 2 are deceptively cute!

The rest of the day we spent at home.  That night we went to a neighborhood fireworks display where Boston saw his first fireworks up close.  I forgot the camera and didn't get any pictures of him, dang it!

July 4th 2012

 This year, for the 4th, we did breakfast in the canyon with Scott's family again.  We found the perfect place up Hobble Creek Canyon with lots of shade and a stream close by.  We had a yummy breakfast of sausage, French toast, coffee cake, eggs, and juice. 

 We spotted a tree rat (we think?) in a hole in a nearby tree and the kids watched it til it darted away into the bushes.

I wish I had gotten more photos of this day, but we also played with our big bubble blowers, and we did our Coke bottle Mentos experiment.  It worked much better this year.  I guess there is a difference in name-brand and generic soda!

After leaving the canyon, Savannah and cousin Chloe spent several hours at the reservoir.  We opted to stay home because it was packed with people, and too hot for a pregnant lady!  Later in the evening, we packed everyone up and headed to Provo to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks from the Provo Temple grounds.  Surprisingly, the kids were not that amazed by them.  Not sure it was work the traffic heading home.  And that was our Fourth this year.

Fourth of July decor

I so miss having a mantle at this house.  I love having my house decorated for holidays, though, so I had to improvise with this shelf in my dining room.  Until I get a house of my own again one day, this will have to do.  I do love the shelf though.  Scott made it and it matches the one in my living room.

The "real" July Fourth

 The morning of the 4th, we went to Hobble Creek Canyon for breakfast with Mom and Julie's family.  They are usually in SC this time of year at the beach house, so we were glad to have them here to celebrate with.  The twins and Brighton, of course, had to have coordinating outfits, so here they are in their cute red, white and blues.  I couldn't find a shirt for Waverly that I liked, so I made her one, using tutorials online.  

  I do wish I had made 5 rows of red instead of 3, but oh well.

 I had to include this photo because it shows Waverly's method of comfort.  I used to be surprised when she was a baby that she did not give herself a hickey!

 And this was the only other non-twin photo I took of the morning.  We did have a great breakfast, if you're wondering:)

 That night we had a "Sidewalk of fire" with our neighbors.  It rained and got pretty cold, however, so I had to include this photo of Waverly in her coat and swimsuit.

 Can't remember the last July 4th that we wore coats for.

 The twins were so cute in bringing their own chairs out; at once point they had an umbrella too.

 More sparklers.

Pre-July 4th celebration

 

We continued our tradition this year of going to the Festival of Balloons in Provo with Grandma L.  This time the twins came.  They were so excited to see them; they were uncharacteristically quiet.

 We never could get a front side view of this Darth Vader balloon once it was airbourne, but it was really cool.  The pilots came from Europe to be part of this festival this year.  It wasn't able to get very high, something to do with the difference in air currents in UT, versus home, which, if anyone knows flags, can tell from the photo which country they hail from.

 This Coke bottle balloon is the tallest in the US, if I remember right.  It's over 200 feet tall.  The kids all got to help deflate it when they were done.

 After the balloons, we headed over to breakfast, put on by the Kiwanis Club, under the trees.  We met up with Kevin and Julie and their family, and they came along.  Brighton and Keaton insisted on climbing in this ambulance.  Keaton thought it was cool until the second EMT said they needed to leave and suggested they take the boys with them.  Not ok with Keaton, as you can see by his big tears.

 After breakfast, I took the kids to the street festival in downtown Provo.  Some did art, some jumped, some watched an animal show with birds, some demanded rides on a $4 per ride merry-go-round, and we all sweated buckets.  I went for the Colonial Days exhibit, which I didn't find til the end, but by then we were all just DONE.  I finally got smart and left Scott behind, as he HATES crowds.  Why didn't I think of this before?  It was fun.  And hot.  Good thing it's only once a year.

 Later that night we met up with our Henry Cousins to watch the Stadium of Fire from afar.  We thought it would be a great idea to go to the boys' office and set up on the patio there.  It wasn't.  It was too far away to hear or feel the boom of the explosions, which is what we both love.  We did have a clear view, anyway, and a great place to eat.  We'll have to keep searching.

 Can you tell who's about to lose?  Hint: it ain't Chloe!

 Sallie brought sparklers which kept the kids busy during the wait time.  They are so fun to photograph!