Fun on the 4th

When the Fourth of July falls on a Monday, the days preceding it all seem to be included in the holiday weekend. We had a fun few days.

• Saturday the boys were invited to play in an above ground pool at the neighbor's house. They had a great time. In the evening, we all went to the West Jordan rodeo. We aren't big rodeo fans, but a few months ago Cooper had seen an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, where Sandy the Squirrel participated in a rodeo. Cooper asked if a rodeo was a real thing or an imaginary thing. I told them they were real and that we could go see one if he wanted, which he did. The rodeo was just ok, it was a little long, not as exciting as the demolition derby we had seen a week before. We were in a good spot to see the fireworks afterward though. But it was a long, late trek back to the car, and then more time in traffic after. We had four sleeping kids in the car (Landon stayed awake).
• Sunday we went up to Maga's new house for a barbecue and visiting with family. Maga made a cake and tried to have the kids help her decorate it like a flag (with blue berries and strawberries) but the end result wasn't as pretty as one she had made a couple years earlier, without the help of little hands. It still tasted yummy though.
• Monday the day started with Daddy and the boys putting up flags. Then we went to see Toy Story 3 at the theater. In the evening we enjoyed the (illegal) fireworks show our neighbors put on each year. We have great seats simply coming out onto our front lawn. Of course we did a few of the smaller fountains, sparklers, etc. at our home too. The picture below is Cooper twirling a sparkler ... he's come a long way. In previous years he HATED the fourth of July and all the noise and would hide in the house. This year he said "This was the funnest day ever!" and I think the other boys agreed.