I, like most American’s thoroughly enjoy Christmas. There are SO many aspects about it that I love and enjoy each year. I can’t help but look forward to the day after Thanksgiving to start hauling up the decorations! But there is one holiday I literally count down for each year. The 4th of July. I don’t know what it is, but I LOVE the 4th. I love the fireworks, I love seeing red, white and blue plastered on buildings, in homes and in stores. I love the excitement that hangs in the air as people line up at the big yellow Black Cat tents to load up on cardboard containers wrapped in plastic, with a promise of a colorful explosion inside. One of my favorite parts of the 4th is driving down the streets lined with those magnificent flags waving in the breeze. I don’t know what it is, but it gets me a little teary each time I see the beautiful sight. It’s pride, it’s joy and it’s love for the country I live in. I remember as a youth belly-aching about having to get up early to go place the flags, I thought it looked pretty but I couldn’t get past the fact that I had to get up early on our day off... Now I’m glad I was able to be apart of such a wonderful, yet simple service in the community. I thank the scouts that still place those today.
When I was a kiddo we would sleep over at my Grandma Barbara’s house in Eden, Utah. My whole Robins family would come for the occasion. We would sleep in tents, or on the trampoline out back and in the morning, we would decorate our bikes, Grandma’s 3-wheeler and go-cart for the annual Eden parade. It was a classic parade. A fire truck, the town ambulance, tractors and a billion kids on bikes throwing candy to bystanders. Looking back, I bet the reason they had the ambulance was to assist all the non-experienced bike riders in their accidents along the way...But I LOVED it. After the parade we would head back to Grandma’s for a yummy breakfast- cooked by the dad’s. None of them were chef’s by any means but I was always impressed by their abilities! That night we would sit in Grandma’s driveway or on her lawn and watch as Uncle Scott and dad would light off the fireworks the family had purchased. We could have charged for admission to the show...
It’s a simple memory, but it’s one I couldn’t wait to relive each year.
I am so dang excited for Thursday this week! I can’t wait for the homemade French toast breakfast in the morning...I can’t wait to mix up a batch of our special hamburgers... Can’t wait for the smells that the grill will send wafting through the air as the juices start flowing... I can’t wait for the red, white and blue snowies my husband is bound to make (he has his own slushy maker with about 20+ flavors he loves to show off ;)) for dessert. I can’t wait for moment to celebrate with the rest of USA the fact that I am proud to be an American as fireworks signal the end to a wonderful day. I can’t wait!
To start my celebrating a little early, and in a unlike-me spontaneous moment, I put together a 4th of July mini photo shoot. I am so grateful to have fields I can walk through- waist high to get such beautiful images! I know that sounds strange, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I love tall fields of grass- they have a romantic, dreamy feeling to me- and when they wave/ripple in the breeze, oh baby, don’t get me started!
These kiddos were absolutely darling! From handsome little Wade, and his sly smile- we get along very well! To the two sweet sisters loving just being together, I was happy as a lark! It may have been a bit hot, that may also be an understatement, but we made it and treats at the end made it all worth it- if the images didn't! In case you need reassurance though, here's a little secret. I normally take about 50-100 images of kids from other families. Reason being, they are quick movers, often they do not love looking at a big black camera- so you have to be quick to catch a smile, and you never know when they might pull a priceless face. Meaning, I keep snapping until the end! My children, on the other hand, end up with 100-400 images between the two of them because they know the person behind the camera and do everything they can to avoid me! I bribe, I jump up and down, I threaten- on occasion with eating their treats...and I go home more tired trying to capture my own kiddos then I do with any other children. Go figure! Also a side note, to be clear, of those 100-400 images, I usually end up keeping about 1/4 of them! All in all, I think we got a handful of keepers!
So from me to you, have a fantastic 4th of July!!!
Yes, you have my permission to celebrate all weekend!
A HUGE thank you to Amber, and Cait for humoring me in my crazy schemes! Happy celebrating!
-Mikenna
Do you have any family traditions for the 4th each year? Maybe food traditions, vacation traditions, maybe a movie tradition- gosh maybe I should go dig out Sandlot...
What is your FAVORITE part of the day or night?