4th of July

This year for the 4th of July, Lori and I along with my friend from church Amelia did the 5K run that Provo hosts every year. It was something I had been training for since April so I was kind of excited to do it. Needless to say, it was very hard. The last 1/2 mile is uphill to the finish line, and by then I was wiped out. Amelia was a lifesaver because she was the only thing that kept me going instead of stopping to puke and then walk the rest of the way. But we did it! My time was 31:07 which means I ran about a 10 minute mile. The first mile of the race is completely flat, and so I was just running at Amelia's pace. I was getting pretty winded (more than usual on my first mile) so I looked at my watch at the mile marker and it said 8:40! I think that was my fastest mile time since high school when I ran track. It was crazy. Because of that I sort of burned myself out for the hill on the third mile so it was a lot harder than it should of been, and I went really slow. But we made it.

After the race we watched the parade. Evelynn loved it, but was scared of the sirens when the firetrucks and ambulances went by. She sat on Daddy's lap because Mommy's legs felt like they were going to fall off after the race :). It's amazing how much more fun things become when you view them through the eyes of your children again. Doug and I were ready to quit the parade after an hour of it, but Evelynn was so entranced that we ended up staying another hour until it was finished. Provo has a stinking long parade, too long if you ask me.

After naps and a battle to clean out and defrost the fridge/freezer, we headed up to Kaysville to have a BBQ with my Aunt Tracy and then watch the Kaysville fireworks. It's kind of nice because we could sit in her front yard and watch them go off a few blocks away. Evelynn was entranced. She's been asking for days if we can go see more fireworks. Oh how I wish we could too because I am a pyro at heart. I remember as a kid that the 4th was always awesome not only because we got to see fireworks but because we got to buy them, and the biggest buyer of them all way my Dad. He turned into a little kid at a candy store when it came to fireworks, and the piece de resistance was always the huge roll of firecrackers that we would light off at the very end. Doug thinks I'm silly for loving fireworks so much, but if you had grown up with my Dad, you would be crazy about them too. Unfortunately, Utah has a ban on most of the cool fireworks and only really sells fountains, which are ok, but there is so much more! Ah well.

Here's the pictures for you're enjoyment.

Evelynn watching the parade go by.

Eloise being held by neighbor Stacey. She thought the parade was pretty neat too.

Eloise in her 4th of July outfit.

Family photo. Sorry to Doug who got his head cut off and Eloise who is being strangled.

Beau the dog. This Dog is perfect for Evelynn because he doesn't care if you climb on him. He is the sweetest thing, and Evelynn loves him.

She was giving him kisses.

And the camera kisses.

Eating dinner.

My camera doesn't have a fireworks setting, but I thought this turned out kind of cool.