God Bless the USA

Happy (belated) Independence Day!

I had a fantastic day that definitely reminded me why the Fourth of July is my absolute favorite holiday!

It started a week ago with the Huntsman Springs Celebrate America Celebration.

This is the third year in a row that I've been to it, and it's definitely the best fireworks show I have ever seen, and that includes some tough contenders like the Portland Waterfront BluesFest! 

It was definitely a great start to my holiday celebrations!

Yesterday morning I joined my sister and her family at the Rexburg parade down Main Street!

It was so fun to see Sophie waving away at all of the floats to try and get them to throw her candy :)

By the end her and Sam had acquired enough candy to last them quite a while!

Little Caroline had a hard time sleeping through all of the sirens and loud music, but she was still as happy as could be despite it all.

Just look at her pretty little face!

Isn't she the cutest?!

Later that afternoon my roommates and I headed down to Idaho Falls to stake out our spot for the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration.

We had six hours to wait for the fireworks to start, so we passed the time with games and really good food!

The Idaho Falls fireworks didn't disappoint, but they were definitely nowhere near as spectacular as Huntsman Springs. 

Huntsman Springs 2014

I am so thankful to live in a country where I have freedom.

It's easy to be negative about the direction our Nation is headed in, as well as the lack of freedom we sometimes feel we might have, but one thing is true - we really are blessed to live in the USA.

This Nation was founded on freedom!

Freedom of religion

Freedom of speech

Freedom of the press

Freedom of assembly

Freedom of petition

If there's one thing I've learned and one thing I really do believe, it's that as long as we stand for and protect those freedoms we were granted in the Bill of Rights, our Nation will be okay.

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy Birthday, America!

Well it's that time of the year again!

Time for my favorite holiday!

Oh how I love parades, barbecuing, swimming, wandering around festivals, and of course,

fireworks!

Last weekend my mom and I went up to Rexburg to help my sister celebrate her birthday along with an early Fourth of July celebration.

Us ladies went for some pedicures...

...and then we headed to Driggs for Huntsman Springs Celebrate America! 

I went to Huntsman Springs last year for their celebration, so I knew it wouldn't disappoint!

The Beach Boys were there to perform before the fireworks!

Then the fireworks show was honestly the best I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot!

Plus, we had Lee Greenwood there to sing God Bless the USA during the show.

It. Was. Amazing.

(And that wasn't even the finale)

                               

I love the Fourth of July. 

Have a happy Independence Day, everyone!

July the Fourth

Tomorrow (today?) is the Fourth of July!

Yay!

Now, why in the world am I up past 1:00 on a Tuesday night blogging instead of sleeping or studying for a huge test I have on Friday?

Because I am excited.

Ecstatic, actually.

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday (disregarding Christmas, of course).

There's something about the summer heat, fairs, fair food, a day full of wandering around the town looking for something fun to do, and, of course, fireworks.

It also helps that this year I have some pretty spectacular company to spend the day with.

Soon I'll be writing a post about Fourth festivities, including a Chukars game.

Yep, it'll be great.

Spontaneous Trip to Washington

Last weekend was an adventure, that's for sure.

I took an unexpected and quite spontaneous trip to Washington.

My five day weekend consisted of:

1. Seeing Elder Elias Warndahl

2. Time with my parents

3. Family BBQ's at the lake

4. A date night with my parents and Bonney Carter :)

Go see Midnight in Paris - It's amazing
5. The Farmer's Market
6. Sleeping in!

7. The Fourth of July

8. FIREWORKS!

 9. Watching a faulty firework go off and set an field on fire

10. 26 hours of driving

 

The weekend of my favorite holiday was definitely a success and it was worth it to go home.

Hopefully next year I won't be sitting behind a tree when the fireworks start...

(thanks, dad...) 

 

It was a fun weekend and well needed break to gear up for finals :)

My Favorite Holiday

Independence day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

*From Wikipedia

 

One day I'll sit right there and watch those fireworks.

It's on my bucket list :)

Happy Fourth of July!