4th of July FuN!

We decided to be adventurous this year and make our own little float for the 4th of July parade. This is was Ethan's genius idea last year and I was impressed that he stuck to it. We spent quite a few hours putting it all together, but it was well worth it and we had a blast. It was Ethan's idea to build a wall with a window, and the rest was up to his wife. Hee-hee.
This is Ethan and Rusty putting the plywood on the wall to make it look more realistic. Thanks to Bradley Bateman for building the whole wall for us, and thanks to Rusty for letting us use his tools and expertise. We have some great friends!

I made most of the signs and things and had to wear Ethan's booger hankie to keep out the gaseous fumes. I have to protect my little one especially.

Here I am just making the signs for the side of our truck, "SHINE SO FINE!"

We bought some spray paint to cover the plywood. We were hoping it would make it look more like a house or something, but who knows?

Here's what the float ended up looking like. Very simple, but cute. I think the people got the message we were trying to send, so that's all we needed. (Notice the flowers in the pot- I stole all of them from Mom's house haha. When she came home she noticed her house looked really bare in certain areas :)

This is the sign we put on the back of the trailer. What's funny is that a lot of people snickered at us when we yelled, "Our favorite color is clear!" during the parade. I think it's rather clever actually.

Ethan and I the morning of, just trying to get everything together.

Our friends Alan and Nicki were kind enough to join us on our adventure. We wanted more bodies and more advertisers, so we picked our dear friends.

Try to ignore and look past Ethan's sexy legs and notice his TIGHT shoes! Can you say, "patriotic". These shoes are so cool and he doesn't get to wear them very often, so I made him put them on. They brought back some memories of when we were first dating and he was his crazy old self. Fortunately, these were actually one of the items of clothing that actually still fits him haha.

This is the whole crew: Trevor, Kyle, Me, Nicki, Garrett, Alan, Ethan, and Mom.
Besides Mom, Nicki, and Garrett, everyone else works for us and they are great. The boys had fun with the super soakers while the ladies (and Ethan) advertised and yelled for Shine So Fine.

Dad was kind enough to drive the truck for us in the parade. Check out his shirt too--very festive Father.

On the way down Main Street we ran into the Bateman's! Some of our favorite people :) It meant a lot to us to have some family there supporting us in the parade. Jaxon, Megan, and Courntey also came to watch the parade.
Oh, and Ashlynn is probably my favorite niece. I love ASHY!

This is just cute. I love it when we match.

Later that night we headed to Idaho Falls to spend the evening with Jax, Meg, and Courntey. We had a delicious BBQ with them (of which Jaxon made some wicked steaks! Our cook-off is going to be a tough one for sure.) Then we were smart and went to Denny's to get some dessert so we could park in their parking lot for the fireworks. Smart, I know.

We sat on the grass outside of Denny's and watched the amazing firework show. The fireworks were right in front of us too. I love fireworks!

Here's a little Prego shot of Megan and I. I'm still not showing a whole lot, but it's coming. I can feel it....every morning.

Here's me and Jax just hangin' out. We all ate too much , that's for sure, but we all had a great time. Fortunately, we got out of there fairly quickly too.

I've always loved the 4th of July because of the festivities and the fireworks, but also because I get really patriotic. It allows me to really focus on our country and our freedoms. I know that the Lord has blessed this nation and he has placed us here for a wise purpose. I hope our country sticks together and always remembers that God is the head of this country. He will protect us if we are on his side. "IN GOD WE TRUST." I love this country and I am grateful to those who fight for our country. May we all stand up for what we believe in and thank the Lord for our freedom of choice, speech, religion, and everything else! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!