4th of July

 We hurried back from our trip to Oregon to be home for the Fourth of July festivities.  We are lucky to live in a community that loves to celebrate the 4th.   We started our day with a fun run from the church which Jonas completed the entire 1.5 miles, followed by a community pancake breakfast.  

Afterwards it was time to find our spot to watch the neighborhood parade which runs about 1/2 mile and anyone can enter (with the expectation that you'll pass out candy).  I was helping set up a station for the carnival at the end of the parade so just saw some of the entries as they were coming in.  Here are a few examples:

My favorite was the old car decorated to be Prince William and Kate Middleton followed by Prince Harry and Kate's sister in a sports car.

That evening we did the Circle of Fire in the cul-de-sac in front of the house.  Families around the neighborhood all brought their fireworks to set off in the circle and we had a dessert potluck including homemade ice cream and popcorn and cotton candy machines.  It was nice to have a great show of fireworks and only having to buy a few of our own to contribute.  Afterwards we went to the backyards to watch the view of the big shows around the valley.