4th of July Wrap-Up

We had a fun long weekend. Here's the wrap-up in bullet points.

• We went to the pool 3 times -- Friday, Saturday and Monday. Well once it was just Keely and I but the other times were the whole family. We went late in the day until evening to avoid the crowds. I've written about our lovely local pool that we join every summer but this year they've added a splash pad and flume slide for added fun. However these new additions also seem to have doubled the people with memberships. Well maybe not double but it sure seems like it. I long for the days when it was not crowded and we could go any time we wanted.

• We went up to Hidden Valley Park on Saturday night to watch fireworks. Yes, Saturday because we live in Utah silly and that means no one can shoot fireworks on the holiday since it falls on a Sunday. Another quirk of living here :) Anyways, we got high enough up that we were able to watch about 5 fireworks displays at once! How many places can you live where you can do that?!? Quirks aside, pretty cool.

• We hosted the monthly gathering of our fantastic group of friends on Sunday. We had our own little fireworks show in front of the house. As usual, the kids had a blast and so did the adults. We made pulled pork with BBQ sauce, everyone brought some sides and appetizers and it was perfect weather. I also finally used some of the herbs from my garden to make basil pesto and it was a hit! I can't say enough about these friends...we love them and it's just a perfect match of 4 families.

• Callie's fear of fireworks seems to be getting worse. On Saturday night, she tried to hide under our bed but got stuck so we got her out and had her sleep with us on the bed. Every time the loud blasts went off, I pet her to calm her down. She slept with us until 4 AM when James kicked her off. Yeah, two people, a 50 lb dog and a 15 lb cat all in a queen sized bed. At least the kids stayed put :) Thankfully, that was the worst of it and she's calmer now until July 24th.
  

That's the extent of it. It was not all that busy but exactly what we needed! The kids are off today as well and home with James while I work. I'll work from home tomorrow then we leave for a week in hazy hot humid NJ. A wrap up of that trip when we return next week...