Stadium of FIRE!

Our 4th of July celebration was really fun and eventful this year. The greatest part about the weekend is that Ethan and I completely forgot about homework and decided to leave all our worries and studies at home so we could enjoy the holiday together with our family.

This year my Bestor family reunion was planned on this weekend and so was my Anderson family reunion. We ended up doing a little bit of both and it was fun to see all of my many cousins. Ethan went early Friday morning to Utah where he worked on getting houses in order for our window washing business. I rode down with my parents and Maddie and Tanner. It was surprising because we did very little talking the whole ride down and a whole lot of singing and dancing! It was so much fun :)

My parents agreed to drop me off at Hannah and Logan's house (Ethan's sister) and what's funny is that I called Ethan on the highway to see where he was and if he was already at Hannah's house . . . turns out he was like 200 yards ahead of us on the freeway! Ha-ha. He slowed down to 55 mph or so and we kept chuggin along until I saw Eeefie in our good ol' Bonnie all by himself on the highway. To be honest, he looked like an old man and I was laughing really hard at him. What are the chances that we happen to be at the same place on the highway together? Wow, what a coincidence.

We spent Friday night with Hannah, Logan, and Chase and we had a really fun time with them. The sisters prepared dinner while the men cooked the meat and helped us out. We had delicious BBQ with them and talked and laughed. That night we played with our babies, talked some more, watched some fireworks out their back porch and then went to bed late after watching some pranks on "The Office". A great night.

July 3: We woke up, got beautified, and went to a car show in town where there were all sorts of neat cars, tents, food, games, and more. We enjoyed walking around in the sun. Then it was goodbye to the French's and hello to the Bestor's.

Wyatt & Chase in their PJ's

Scrubba, Dub, Dub in the Tub!

They were cute in the car together

Grandma and Grandpa were so generous this year to all of our family. They bought each and every one of us tickets to STADIUM of FIRE! I can't believe they did that for all of us; they are amazing grandparents. Before the fiesta, we all enjoyed another BBQ together in my grandparents back yard where we talked, laughed, took pictures, hugged, and sang songs like: "Shoe Fly Pie" together. Oh how we all love that song :) Grandma Phyllis wants all of her grandchildren to sing this song at her funeral. Anyway, after the BBQ we headed to the Stadium of Fire celebration. Thankfully, Gramps and Grace were kind enough to babysit Wyatt and Ella for us so we could enjoy the night together child free. It was really nice to be honest and I am so grateful for their generosity and sacrifice for not going. They truly do have big hearts; especially for their family. Thanks Gramps and Grace.
We got to ride with Uncle Kurt and Aunt Petrina and that was a treat because we hardly get to see them, let alone talk to them. We really enjoyed our time with them. The whole celebration was Awesome. There were: dancers, lights, fireworks, music, flying colors, jets, patriotism, love, laughing, glow sticks galore, camera flashes, Carrie Underwood, snuggling, and more! I had so much fun dancing to the music and waving my glow sticks in the air with my Dad and Ethan. Eth kind of had a hay day with the glow sticks haha.

The celebration honored the scouting program and inside the program there was an award printed on the page that read: "Proud to be an Eagle Scout"
Every male in the stands that was an eagle scout was asked to stand up and be recognized and applauded by holding up the small poster. Ethan, Ron, Tanner, Uncle Lon, Michael, Taylor, Robbie, Dave, and more all stood up and were honored. It was pretty cool.

All of the girl cousins together!
(Well, the ones that were present. Erica sang in the huge choir at the celebration)

She sang her favorite song, "My Temporary Home".
She said it is technically and musically her best song she's written. It's a good one.

We were the only ones out of our family that could make it this time, but we all had a lot of fun!

(Ethan, Me, Dad, Tanner, Maddie, Mom)

Sunday was spent with my Dad's side of the family. We had an inspiring talk/lesson/thought given to us by the Rick & Tiffany Sorenson family after having sacrament meeting at Grandma Anderson's church. Then we ate a big lunch together and mingled for hours with the whole family. Ethan and I challenged about 5 of my really young cousins to a game of soccer. Eth and I against 5 little kids--they beat us. What a great way to end the day; be humble. Then we drove home that night and went to bed happy and free people. Aaaaahh the things we are all blessed with.

I love the 4th of July because its one of the only times of the year that we really come together as a nation and think about the freedom's we so frequently forget about and take advantage of. I love all the patriotic songs as well and I am compelled to cry almost every time the songs are played at the 4th of July. I'm grateful for the nation I live and for being blessed with such a wonderful family. I'm eternally grateful for those soldiers who have fought for our freedom's and who are currently fighting for our country. We owe so much to them. I thank them for their sacrifices and for their courage. I hope and pray that I may always have enough courage to stand up for what I believe in and for those I love. I have learned that,

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR!

I'm proud to be an American and I am proud to live in the country of opportunities. Our Founding Father's were truly inspired from above and led by God to bring about this great nation and our Declaration of Independence. I love this land, AMERICA.