The 4th

In the days leading up to the 4th we took advantage of having family in town. We had a big pizza and pool party with all the cousins. This was Livster and Gracie sitting by the pool, holding hands, talking and waiting for everyone else to come out. Livy sure loves her cousin Grace. 

The next day we decided to do something we had never done with Livy. We took her to her very first movie! She had seen Monsters Inc. and liked it, so we had a feeling that with Monsters University she'd be able to sit through the whole thing and enjoy it. We walked in the theater once the previews had already started, so it was really dark, and Livy's eyes just lit up when she saw the huge bright screen. I think she was a bit overwhelmed and nervous as first. But once she got to sit down in her own seat and chow down on the enormous bag of popcorn her daddy got for her she was a happy camper. She was in and out of her seat, cheering, growling, and laughing during the whole movie. We loved watching her just as much as we loved the movie itself. 

That night we got a sitter for all of the kids and went up to Sundance for a very tasty dinner. It was so nice to talk with just the adults, and enjoy each others company. 

The next day was the 4th of July. By far our favorite holiday, especially in Utah. We got up bright and early, dragged Livy out of bed, drove down to Provo just in time for the Freedom Run! I walked the 5K with Sue, Jane Anne and Angela. Colby and Rob ran the 5K, and James and Ryan ran the 10K. It's the funnest race to be apart of. We tried going down to the parade, but by the time the parade was starting Livy was just too tired, and getting hot that we decided it was best just to go home. We went up to the Jacksons and went swimming with everyone. 

We went home to take a good nap, and got all ready to go back to the Jacksons for a wonderful big BBQ dinner. We invited my parents to come up and join us since we knew they didn't have any other family in town. It was so much fun to have them with us, Livy loved having both of her grandparents in one place. Steak and chicken kabobs, corn on the cob, watermelon and salad - the best. 

 Then we hustled down to the Stadium of Fire. We went with the whole Jackson Clan. We haven't been in years, but with Kelly Clarkson on the ticket I was pretty excited. Livy did great. We were pretty nervous that she would be too tired, and the fireworks would be too loud, but she loved it. She had a few rough spots, but for the most part did so well. She loved the music, and absolutely loved the fireworks. 

We left a few minutes early so that we could beat some of the traffic. But by the time we got to our car there were already a bunch of people in their cars, and we didn't move more than 30 feet in an entire hour. Livy fell asleep, which we were so grateful for because we didn't get home until after 1 am. It was such a fun day. The race, a BBQ, family, and fireworks, couldn't have been any better.