4th of July...no fireworks?

Hello everyone! We're playing catch up...doing two weeks this week. We neglected to take our computer to Toronto so now I have to try and remember two weeks which is really hard for my little bitsy brain. Let's see how I do.

Before my (heidi's) parents left, we would spend our Sunday afternoons at my mom and dads. But now that they're gone, our friends have really picked up the slack. Karrie and Derek had us over dinner on Sunday and it was so nice. They cooked a delicious dinner (bom apetite!) and we spent some time with their new adorable puppy, Phebe. Phebe found a particular liking for the toe jam in Jayson's shoe. She just crawled right in and started licking. It was so nasty.

Seriously guys, sick.

Here's J and Mae at Derek and Karrie's.

J Dawgs required some of our full time attention that week. What started as a quick project somehow turned into hours and hours of work. I think the pictures tell it best. Here's how it all went down....

First was the simple installation of a ceiling fan. Our ice maker had been sweltering in the recent heat and couldn't keep up with demand. So Jayson installed a fan to help it cool down. It has worked remarkably well and we haven't had any problems since. That was done about 9:00 p.m. Then somehow a can of paint came out...

Here is J and Joy. You can see we're all excited at this point.

Jared was done with his shift at 8:00, but he could tell it was going
to be a great time at J Dawgs, so he grabbed a brush...

Mae thought it wasn't such a great time, and she'd rather sleep.

9:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m., 10:30 p.m....still going. Need fuel. Get pizza quick.

What? We're still here? Okay, no problem.She woke up and just decided to hang out.
This picture is just proof that we have the best baby ever.

Mom, on the other hand...she just wanted to go home. Can I borrow that blanket, Mae?
At 1:00 a.m. we finally put on "Sloop John B" by the Beach Boys.
"I want to go home, Let me go home, why don't you let me go home...."

But our work party was a screaming success. We painted the whole outside, installed our ceiling fan, painted and cleaned the inside, and had a great time. Those work parties are fun, but we're so glad they only happen every few months.

The fourth of July started out fantastically. We fought miserable traffic through Provo to pick up Joy and Katy and headed up to Lehi to Ryan and Teresa. Ryan and Teresa put on an extremely well orchestrated flag ceremony and breakfast each fourth of July. They had at least 150 people out to raise the colors and devour pancakes. Jayson and Heidi enjoyed working in the kitchen and flipping pancakes. Heidi especially loved making Mickey Mouse pancakes.

Here is one of our beauties, MICKEY!!

Mae Mae and Aunt Katy playing.

What a delicious breakfast!

Mae was loving that watermelon.

Mom and Mae enjoy their first Fourth of July together.

Hey that hat is pretty cute...

You mind if I borrow it?

I'll just put it on...


It doesn't fit!

Okay, you can have it back!

I love this hat!

Cousin Haylee is so sweet!

After breakfast, we went down to Provo to the historic Smoot home. Every year, the Smoots and all their cousins gather to watch the Freedom Festival parade. People started putting out blankets almost a week early to save spots. I hope the parade was worth it! After the parade, they all gather in the Smoots back yard and eat. We had the pleasure of bringing J Dawgs to the party, and had an awesome time meeting all of the Smoots and eating delicious food.

We also found out that Kendra is a natural. She was cutting dawgs like a pro and obviously serving with some serious smile. Maybe she'll consider breaking into the New York market for us.

J, Kendra and Seth. Mmmmmm, hot dawgs....

After we had had such a great morning, the rest of the day was really quite boring. We left EARLY the next morning for Toronto and had so much to do to get ready, so we had to do all that stuff. We did hear fireworks off in the distance. Eventually we would see a very poorly planned and executed firework show in Toronto, but it just wasn't the same without "I'm proud to be an American."