4th of July Weekend

Harlow is helping Daddy get things ready around the house for the 4th of July Festivities!

The Parade was fun as always, cheering loudly for the floats holding people you don't even know.  But for some reason I just love it.  I love watching the soldiers pass and when they shoot off the guns.  My favorite thing in the parade, hands down, is when the missionaries serving in the Provo mission come by.  Everyone stands and gives a grand cheer.  I always get goose bumps and tears come to my eyes.  I am grateful for the valuable lessons I learned on my mission or working hard, relying on our Savior more fully, learning to love people as He does...these and many more lessons will stay with me for the rest of my life - I am tremendously grateful that I got to serve a mission.

After all these sentimental mission feelings I turned to Megan Williams Hinckley and said "Look Megan!  Their Cute!!  The sister missionaries are so cute!  I never got to look like that...that's just plain sad!!"  and we both had a good laugh about it, reflecting back on how sadly we had to dress and look...and how we were always asked if we were nuns...*SIGH* - the sacrifices we make for all those amazing, wonderful experiences and blessings... ;)

After the Parade the Rasmussen's, Andersen's, William's, Hinckley's, Laing's all came over to our house for spare ribs, many yummy fixin's, and of course, the slip-n-slide.  I am still trying to collect pictures of all this...if you have any, send them my way Please!

For fireworks we went out to Aunt Liz and Jason's house.  We had good fireworks of our own but what was fun was watching our own, and then when they were setting up more we could watch the amazing firework show happening all around us by neighbors.  It was fantastic and Harlow loved them!  He wasn't even scared of the big, loud ones.  He'd point and clap.  Nathan brought glow sticks, which all the kids loved and even his plane, which he flew threw the exploding fireworks above our heads!  So Fun!

Friday Mom, Sara, Cindi and I went up to Salt Lake Temple.  Nathan and I had gone up to the temple the week before so it was really neat to be there again so soon.  Thinking of the sacrifices made by those members and the skills that they had making everything my hand and the beauty of it...its pretty special being there.

Saturday we went to the farmer's market at Pioneer Park.  My favorite thing was the little Monster hat we all got for Harlow...as you can see he's showing us his most beautiful, happy smile for this picture...

Here are some nice Sunday pictures us Andersen's took together.  Aren't we lovely?!