4th of July Parade!

Provo City Parade!

We got to the parade around 8:15 am, and had an hour before the parade was going to start, but that was a great decision because the parade route was filling up fast! We found great seats though! We were right across from the Provo City Library. Also, they had a "pre-parade" which kept Peter fantastically entertained during the wait time. I really don't understand what a pre-parade is...it seemed just like a regular parade. There was a firetruck, and people giving out candy. Peter got a little Chick-fil-a stuffed cow and a fire hat. He learned to wave to all the people, and almost learned how to go grab candy- he was a little hesitant about getting it, but loved eating it.  

Fire Marshal Peter

 Jonathan went and got "breakfast" for us. Basically he walked down the street until he found something open- it was Subway. Sandwiches for breakfast is okay with me! (Actually, I really love Subway, and was thrilled when we found one in China, and found that it tasted just like America.) By the time he got back, we only had a little bit of time to kill before the actual parade. So, we ate and entertained Peter and then soon enough, the real parade started!

Peter loved waving at all his parade friends.

Leading the band with Lisa and Louis!

Peter most loved the high school marching bands (there were 12 total, and Peter loved them all), the ponies, the police motorcycles and the firetrucks. There were also military vehicles for all of the big wars, the Provo and Orem missionaries, a couple of parade balloons, floats for Ms. Provo (and tons of other nearby cities, cars for the mayor and governor, BYU and UVU had groups, storm troopers, theatre groups, and a bunch of other businesses. It was pretty fantastic. One of the theatre groups had everyone in costumes- princesses, Aladdin, Peter Pan, the cast of Wizard of Oz, the cast of Mary Poppins, and so many more. That was fun to see!

WWII half track

 Our friend Louis and Lisa came to the parade and sat with us for the last half of the parade. They are getting married this weekend, and we won't be able to come to their wedding, so it was great to get to spend some time with them on the 4th. They always try to get Peter to love them- and when he was a baby, that was a cinch, but now that he is older, he is not always willing to go to anyone. But, they sure try! They are great with him, and he had a fun time watching the parade with them. He got one fingernail painted red by Lisa, some candy, and lots of tickles and snuggles.

Enjoying the parade with Uncle Louis

The bands were his favorite. He would dance to the music.

Making friends with the neighbors.

Peter is in a phase right now where he wants to be friends with people, all people, regardless of their feelings toward him. He will say hi to any kid that he sees and wants to know their name. He constantly says, "What's that name?" (we're working on changing that to What's his/her name?) When Peter was dancing to one of the bands, this man with the green umbrella caught his attention. The man started leading the music with his umbrella- up and down, up and down. And Peter started to copy him- his little hand began to go up and down. So then the man moved his hand left to right, left to right. And Peter moved his hand in the same way. Then the man twisted his hand, and Peter twisted his hand. It was great. Then Peter asked, "What's your name?" The guy said, "I'm Mark. What's your name?" And Peter said, "I'm Peter." And then Peter just stood there and watched the guy for a good minute without saying anything. Kids are so awkward, and so fantastic.

We had a great time at the parade. Peter made some friends and saw some cool things. We got to see our friends, and eat some great sandwiches. We got to have one last hurrah in Provo on the 4th of July. Maybe we'll be here next year, and give it another time, but in case we are gone, I'll know we had a great 4th of July this year.

After the parade, we visited our friends, Crystal and Ben and their boys Marshal and Noah (Noah was just a couple weeks old, and these guys lived in Nanjing with us). Peter and Marshal are the same age and they play great together. I got to hold baby Noah and be reminded how small babies start out. This family is moving to California at the end of the month, so I'm really glad we got to see them before they move.

 Then, we headed to Aunt Jean's house, and ate lunch while we visited with Jean and Arlean. These two ladies are some of my favorite sisters to be with. They have so many amazing stories and are so much fun to be around.

Then, we had one last visit with Lisa and Louis before heading back to Bountiful. After they get married, they are headed to Philadelphia, so again, it was great that we got to spend so much time with them before they head east. Everyone is going a million places.  I was glad we got to see so many of our friends while we were down there. It made for a really long day, but it was worth it.

The 4th of July was fantastic. We had a blast!

Hot Air Balloons!

We started the 4th of July really early. Jonathan and I were up by 5:15am with the goal of leaving the house by 5:30. We left by 5:40, so we were off to a good start. We left so early because I really wanted to see the Balloon Festival in Provo. I had seen so many fun pictures of my Provo friends at the Balloon Festival where about 20 hot air balloons get inflated in a big field and then take off and do some air games (dropping bean bags on targets and jousting regular balloons- not other hot air balloons), and then they all go for a float around the valley. I saw so many cool pictures, and since we don't know if we will be in Utah next year, I really really wanted to take advantage of our proximity and head down to Provo. Also, I wanted to have at least one more time at the parade in Provo. Provo does an extremely good job celebrating the 4th of July, and I wanted one more go with this city I'd grown to love and now miss. 

Peter slept like a champ the whole way down and we got to the field before any of the balloons started inflating! I was super excited to be there and see the balloons, and I knew Peter would love it once everything got started. 

Starting to inflate the balloons 

 One of the coolest things was that you could walk among the balloons in the field. We thought we would be sitting on the sidelines of the action, but in reality we were right in the middle of everything. We just roamed around as all the balloons were growing and inflating.

Balloons are growing!

Peter was mesmerized. 

Demonstration of the burner!

 We learned that the balloons were a little late going up due to winds and possible rain coming. As a spectator, it didn't seem like there was that much wind, but we figured these guys do this way more than we do, so they should probably be the ones to make all the decisions. It was amazing to walk among all the balloons as they were inflating. There were so many colors dancing in the sky. It was neat too to watch them go from flat on the ground to towering above our heads.

I said, "Peter, look at mom! Smile!"
All he would give me is this crazy side eye smile.

Watching all the balloons

So many balloons, so colorful!

 After all the balloons had inflated, the official call was made that no balloons would be taking off that day. There were storms threatening and it just wouldn't be safe for the aeronauts. So, we didn't get to see them take off into the clouds, but that was okay. It was still super fantastic to see them on the ground inflated. And, since Peter didn't know any better, he thought the inflated balloons were super cool, and he didn't care if they flew or not. Balloon mission was a success! After the balloons, we headed for University Ave to claim a spot for parade!

Peter, Jonathan and Robin with all the balloons

Fireworks!

I'm going to skip a bunch of fun things we've done lately, and talk about the fourth of July and then work backwards! I have been really excited for this holiday coming up. Last year, we were in Taiwan for July 4th and we celebrated by eating dinner at TGI Fridays. Even though it was a great adventure, I missed celebrating the 4th with parades and fireworks. It was exciting this year to be in America to celebrate. Our fourth of July was a little backwards. All the cities around us had their fireworks on the night of July 3rd, so we rolled with it. Jonathan's boss sent a text out claiming the best place for fireworks was a golf course in North Salt Lake. At first, we weren't going to do fireworks and Jonathan and Peter were just going to camp out in the backyard...but we quickly learned he was not about to go to sleep because it was too new and exciting, so we scrapped that idea, piled into the car and headed to the golf course about 15 minutes before the fireworks started. 

About a mile and a half from the golf course, traffic slowed to a creep and cars lined the streets, parking anywhere there was space. We quickly realized we had passed any possible parking space. We decided as we drove along at a snail's pace that the best plan would be for Jonathan to drop Peter and I off at the golf course, find a parking space, and then meet up with us. But, I'd left my phone at home, so I was worried that if we were dropped off, we would never find Jonathan again in the dark. But, then we saw a big RV parked on the side of the road, and we figured that if Peter and I stayed in close proximity to said RV, then Jonathan could use that as a marker to find us. So, Peter and I jumped out, Jonathan drove on to find parking (hopefully close), and Peter and I went to find a place to sit and watch the fireworks.

Less than 5 minutes after we sat down, the fireworks show began! Jonathan had not made it to us yet, so I was hoping he'd get there soon and at least get to watch most of the fireworks. Peter was in awe with the first firework, and then a bunch went off at once, and he buried his head into my body and clung to me like a baby monkey. He was shaking. So, I talked really quiet to him, and reminded him that it was loud, but the sound wouldn't hurt him, but if he looked in the sky, he would see the pretty colors of he fireworks. It only took him another moment before he was looking up at the sky again. He still held on to me, but his grip loosened as the show went on. He wouldn't leave my lap, but by the time we were about half way through he was back to being excited and happy. He liked the "sparkly ones" and the ones that burst into a ring shape. Even the grand finale at the end didn't scare him. It was a pretty fantastic show. There was good variety of explosions and lots of good colors. Also, the golf course was the perfect place, there was so much room that I didn't feel like I had to squeeze in to find a place to sit. There was lots of empty space around all the groups of people, and tons of places to sit to have a great view.

Meanwhile, no sign of Jonathan...for the entire show, he didn't show up. The fireworks ended, and people started getting up to leave. I stood up with Peter and we just kinda stood there for a bit as I tried to decide what to do. I knew the direction Jonathan had headed towards, but what if he had turned down a side road, or what if we passed each other among all the other people, and I didn't have a way to get in touch with him. Looking back, I should have just borrowed someone's phone, but I didn't think of it then. Luckily, less than 5 minutes after the fireworks ended, I saw Jonathan walking towards us! Success! I told him I was sorry he missed all the fireworks due to parking the car, but it turns out, he saw the entire show as he was walking from the car to the golf course! They picked a great location for the fireworks and the fireworks were visible for quite a ways. So, we got Peter in the stroller and started on the loooooong walk back to the car. I would guess we walked for about 20 minutes to get to the car. But it was nice and cool, and Peter was in a great mood, so it wasn't bad. By the time we got there, the road was pretty cleared out. It was slow traffic for a bit, but once we got passed a roundabout, it was quick going home.

Peter fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep from the car to his bed! He slept through the night, but it was a short night because the next morning, we left the house around 5:40am so we could go down to Provo to have some 4th of July fun down there. Stay tuned for part 2 of Independence Day!