I failed to take any pictures on the 4th this year; not sure what I was thinking. So, I guess I can just tell about the highlights. The day started with our traditional not-so-early-in -the-morning family breakfast at my house. We thought about not having it this year since my grandparents weren't going to be able to be there now that they are at the manor and my sisters couldn't come either. Since I have always been a lover of tradition, my mom and I decided to carry on no matter how few in number we were. We ended up having a nice, quiet time with my parents and Van and Cindy. Well, sorta quiet I guess; Brandt was still there and there isn't much quietness about him! After that we were off to the Paris Parade. It was pretty good this year with quite a few interesting entries. I especially liked the old tractors and truck entered by the Glenn Rich family. Brandt like the fire engine with Smokey Bear. He was actually more interested in playing with the black lab next to us than he was watching the parade or trying to catch candy. Later in the afternoon we headed to Georgetown to have dinner with Bryce's family. Brandt had a great time playing in the little swimming pool with Jolie and the other cousins. After dinner we went to Montpelier to watch the fireworks; unfortunately Brandt fell asleep on the way there and wouldn't wake up for them. I'm not so sure he would have liked them much anyway since he doesn't like any type of loud noises.
Bryce's family tradition used to be to either go to the east side of the lake with the Hemmerts for a picnic and swimming or go to their house in Liberty to celebrate, but they haven't really done that since Bryce's grandpa passed away. The 4th of July was Don's favorite holiday I think and he loved making a big deal out of it with all of his family. He always made sure that we had a memorable day, especially with all the big fireworks that were set off at the ball diamond at the end of the evening. He was a very patriotic man, and there is even a flag painted on the roof of the mill by their house courtesy of Bryce's uncle Jeff. We all are reminded of him and miss him even more around holidays like this.
My growing up memories of the fourth include doing fireworks at our house prior to the 4th for Kelli's b-day, which is on the 3rd. The celebration on the 4th would start with the Lewiston parade, which was beyond huge! The day continued with vendors and free entertainment at the park, softball games across the street, and the rodeo. It was always the funnest day hanging out with my Bodily cousins. The finale was the Lewiston fireworks which were always amazing, and then the long drive (at least for my dad) back to Bear Lake. It's really not a long drive, but since the rest of us slept I bet it was a long drive for my dad who had to be exhausted from the day's events. Amazing the sacrifices our parents make that we never think about til later. I sure do miss the time spent in Lewiston with my family and am thankful for the memories I have. I hope that Brandt will be able to enjoy our little holiday traditions that we've started, especially on the 4th when we celebrate our gift of freedom, so that one day he can appreciate his memories of our family as well.
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