Fourth!

Our Fourth of July was very laid back this year. The great part is that laid back is perfect for the Fourth of July. Our kind of holiday. We had a long weekend with swimming:

Our ward had a picnic with friends, food and fireworks.

Rae made this dessert - it's jello and cool whip. It's a grand ole flag!

And we ended our three day holiday with the town's display of fireworks (thank you Bartletts for having us over! (Josephine took this picture of the fireworks!)

Also enjoyed but not pictured was plenty of watermelon, more time with friends and stories about Fourth of July celebrations past.

When the kids ask for bedtime stories, we have a tradition of Ancestor stories. It all actually started because picking out the book, deciding who sat where and turning all the lights on did more to rile everyone up than induce a sleepy atmosphere. So, with the lights off and everyone tucked, James and I tell stories. The ladies pick the person and subject. We come up with a story. Over the weekend, James and I got tell stories of our favorite fireworks and cookouts.

If you don't want to hear a possibly boring story, move to the next post. But, for those who may be remotely interested, let me tell you about the Fourth of July, 1976...

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1976, the country celebrated - big time. I remember it clearly because we had special props and poses for our school pictures that year, we learned patriotic songs and had a big school production celebrating the Founding Fathers through song. We had fireworks for what seemed like weeks, we even had an Independence Day parade, a first for our little town. I was nine years old. The USA was 200 years old.

My parents threw a party at our house. We had crabs and oysters and hamburgers and homemade peach ice cream. My grandparents and aunts and uncles were there and lots of cousins. After all that food (and horseshoes and kites) we watched the fireworks from our front yard. I remember a crowd showed up. I think the whole Ward was there, because this particular year was the first summer in our new house plus, the fireworks were set off at the Civic Center, which was behind the cornfield across the street. We had front row seats at the perfect viewing distance! (Later that year we could watch as the Civic Center burned to the ground, too.)

I will always remember that Fourth as a great day in my carefree childhood. Surrounded by family, friends and food. When I was nine, that's what America was all about.