4th of July traditions

4th of July in Huntington Beach is so Patriotic! We have the largest parade west of the Mississippi. I'm ashamed to admit we've never actually attended. Danny and I don't have a long enough attention span and needless to say, neither do our kids. We don't really relish the thought of sitting out in the sun. However, it's nice to know it's there and it's fun to see the whole city riding their bikes downtown to see. it. This year, the grand marshall was Noble Waite, from our ward. He was the first Bishop for our church in Huntington Beach. He has served in the Stake Presidency. But he has also served on the City Council for a number of years as well as on the school board. We were all so proud of him that he was chosen.

Our Stake puts on this incredibly patriotic 4th of July production. There is a showing then night before, on the 3rd (for those who want to catch the parade); and then 2 shows the morning of the 4th. We have a multitude of talented people who sing and dance and volunteer their time to do this. But most importantly, we have 2 amazing women who actually do productions for a living that our the brains and force of this incredible show; Diane Christensen & Kathy Buzby. They work for the Children's theatre and currently for the high schools. But they've been doing this production for the past 20 years. It is NOT some little church thing but a full on amazing PRODUCTION! People in the community can't believe it. We also put on a big show, once every 3 years that has a hidden moral theme that many non LDS people participate in. It's such a great bonding experience for the members of this stake.

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In any case, Bradley, Bryce & Brian all participated in the children's portion this year. Brad & Bryce sang in the children's choir and had individual solo parts, and Brian was part of the 5 and under parade. This year's theme had them dressing up as a sports figure. Brian chose karate.

It is really a patriotic way to start off the day.

After that, we usually host a BBQ at our house. We start off at the park playing soccer or kickball and end up at the house BBQing. This year, we were unfortunately to busy to host it so our sweet friends, the Sprowls, offered to host it. They have a pool which my kids did not get out of until the bitter end. Even when most everybody left to the nearby park to play soccer, they swam. I wish I would have got pictures, but I was too busy being in the pool with Tyson who LOVES the water. the other half of the time, I was making sure he didn't go for a "swim" by himself.

We end the day watching the fireworks from the Pier. Last year, we actually walked down to the beach from our friends, the Ritters, but this year we watched it from their roof. We saw them really great.

When we came home, dad lit off a couple that he smuggled in across the border from Costa Mesa who IS allowed to do all sorts of fireworks although H.B. isn't supposed to do ANY. Go figure. It was a fun day for all, except dad, who stayed home to work on the bathroom. Sorry dad but we are grateful for your hard work!