July 4th – Balloons, Kayaks, Fireworks
Balloons at Freedom Festival
Our last time at Provo’s Balloon Festival was 3 years ago (read about it here)! In celebration of Independence Day we took our kiddos for W’s first year seeing the hot air balloons. We went with Jer’s sisters and their families. The balloons filled up but didn’t end up flying because of winds, but they were still fun to watch fill with hot air.
Kayaking at Wayne Bartholomew Family Park
Since the family was coming to hang with us at the reservoir in Springville, we made it a party and brought hot dogs to grill, then everyone brought sides. We also rented a 2-seater kayak with an extra youth-sized life vest to try out with the family. I LOVE our van and how much it carries, including a kayak on top! Everyone took turns going around the lake area in the kayak; the kids couldn’t get enough, especially before they each had a turn. It was so much fun! The older kids liked helping to paddle, and the kayak was really sturdy on the water compared to inflatables. We are now looking into maybe buying one of our own!
We met up with our BFFs here at the reservoir once our family went home, and towed them in their boat from the kayak! A super fun and sun-filled day.
Dinner and Fireworks with our BFFs
We returned the kayak on the way home, where we quickly bathed/showered and changed for dinner at our friends’ home. Dinner was amazing—hamburgers, corn on the cob, barbecue beans, sunflower crunch salad, cold Cactus Cooler to drink, 2 flavors of ice cream, and skewers of fruit with a watermelon star at the tip for the kids… Victoria also made the most beautiful and delicious American Flag cake I’ve ever had—Jer calls it a muffin because it’s got berries inside. Behold!
This cake was a serious highlight of my Independence Day. All the berries on top are also inside! Victoria also made the frosting from scratch since she didn’t have mascarpone. We even sang “Happy Birthday” to the United States of America (it’s 243 years old now) before slicing into it. I’m so grateful they shared this special creation as well as their home and time with us on this holiday!
Our friends have an amazing view of Provo, so we were able to see some aerial fireworks from their windows as we played Wits and Wagers before dark. When it did finally get dark enough at around 10pm we went outside and the Dads helped kids set off the big fireworks and play with sparklers. It was hilarious seeing them light the firework and then run away so quickly that they dropped the lighter!
I am so happy to share this day with many people I love. I am filled with gratitude for this beautiful and blessed country, to have the brave and downtrodden people now and throughout history building and protecting America so that we can have these gifts of freedom and peace. I know it is a big responsibility we all share to be a good citizen, and to keep hope and love going around the world starting here, sharing our blessings with everyone we meet and everywhere we go. God bless America, land that I love.
-Kat
