Oh beautiful

I love the 4th of July. I really do. I especially love the 4th of July in a small town like Rexburg. And here's why.

Friday - We set off fireworks with Jordan and Heather in the Church parking lot. I will forever treasure the image of little Heather, almost 41 weeks pregnant, lighting fireworks and then running away from them. Also, a lot of candy was consumed.

Saturday - The day of purchasing fireworks. Which was sort of similar to they ways in which I imagine people purchase weed. I went to the Black Cat stand in the Broulims parking lot and spent almost $60 on explosives, and then said "Bottle rockets aren't legal in town, are they?" And I said that because I knew that someone there would then tell me where I could get some. Which they did. I drove five minutes out of town to someone's farm, where they had a truck trailer in their yard, full of explosives. I walked up and said "I need some bottle rockets...I hear you're the people to see." "Come with me," one of them said, before leading me into the dark truck trailer and handing me a package of contraband fireworks. I filled out paperwork with my name, address, and driver's license number, and provided the name of a city that I was planning to export these fireworks to. I felt awesome.

Sunday - A day of food and friends! In the afternoon, we were joined by Seve and Jules, and Mike and Shanda, and had one of those "married people meals" that married people are always planning. The highlight of which was the HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM we made for dessert. Jacob and I got an ice-cream maker for our wedding almost a year ago, but this is the first time we've used it. But I think we'll be using it about once a week for the rest of the summer. Seve and Jules stayed a bit longer, which necessitated a second dessert of s'mores made with Nutella instead of chocolate, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies instead of graham crackers. And they were amazing. Then Jules and I talked about babies (she's due in November) while Seve and Jacob had a Nerf gun war.

Monday - I got a text from Jordan around 3 am announcing that they were on their way to the hospital to have their baby. I might have done a little happy dance, and then slept for 4 more hours. While I hadn't been looking forward to getting up at 7 am, by the time it came around, I was pretty awake. One of my best friends was having a baby and I was getting ready to be in a parade. And 4th of July in a small town just can't be beat. (It's something every American should experience at least once.)

We dropped some breakfast off at the hospital for the Taits, then drove over to the school, where the Theatre Summer Camp at BYU-Idaho readied ourselves and our "float" (Gary's truck with a banner taped onto it), then drove out to Smith Park, the parade's starting point. The parade was a blast, roasting hot, but we had fun. After changing out of our costumes (I was a nerd, and Jacob was a founding father, sort of), the Grotto Committee members went our separate ways...Jacob to finish some things at home and me to Porter Park for a while, to enjoy the Independence Day Fair. I ate two chicken kabobs and listened to the jazz band while watching people ride the mechanical bull.

It was still hot by afternoon, so a handful of friends told us to meet them at Beaverdick Park (every single time I write that name, I can't believe it), and to bring our bathing suits. So we joined Mike, Shanda, Seve, Jules, Jerry, Ashley, and Janelle, dangling our feet in the water at the dock and occasionally throwing each other in. The highlight of that afternoon was probably when Jacob attempted to step from the dock to a large pipe that was sticking out of the water, where he was planning on balancing. He succeeded for about one and a half seconds before exclaiming "Oh, freak," and falling into the water, shoes, glasses, and all. He did manage to save himself and all of those valuable articles, though. Oh, and I foolishly refused sunscreen, wanting my skin to be "sun-kissed," which would somehow make summer a reality. My back is now somewhere between "fire engine red" and "magenta," and summer is too much of a reality.

In the evening, it was fireworks with Jacob's family! As per the tradition I've developed, I read the Declaration of Independence (with occasional interjections of "Sshhh!" and "Hey, listen!" and "Pay attention! This is a sacred document!"), at the end of which we lit the first firework of the night. We had several unsuccessful "Tank Wars," and lit dozens of ground-flowers and crackle-bombs and sparklers. (We've still got a handful of 'em around here somewhere, to be set off at a later time and place...)

Happy birthday, America. (And Kaitlynn Elizabeth Tait.)