Stars and Stripes and Fun Forever!

"Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light", the Simon family at Kaysville's 4th of July parade?! You will now! We met up with some of my family to watch the great parade Kaysville hosts every year!

Now...this picture may need a BIT of explaining. You see, we purchased a new camera the day before and Jerald was having fun experimenting with the color swap and accent tools. Very curious...

Here's darling Summer with her equally darling cousin, Annika.





Ohhhh! Jerald's at it again! This time, check out Summer and Annika's red punk hair and the grass/retro 70's red shag carpet!

Sweet mother of Job and Saints be praised - we met the Pope himself! Dan Pope, that is. He picked Summer out of the crowd and actually asked to have his picture taken with her. And hey, we didn't need his seven day forecast to tell us the weather was perfect for our Independence Day fabulousity! (I totally made up that word)

"What so proudly we hail" a shot of Jerald's dapper good lookingness. It must never be bypassed.

Pause for a pose!

Summer was ecstatic with all of the floats, the marching bands, the dance groups, as well as the candy, toys, and stuffed animals that were tossed in her direction!

She scored some patriotic bling and a great Mickey Mouse to add to her collection!

And "at the twilight's last gleaming", we all convened again to watch the fireworks display by Davis High School. I packed a picnic dinner for us, which consisted of chicken salad on croissants (a recipe which will leave you speechless - I'll post it soon), pasta salad, potato chips with onion dip, chocolate chip cookies, and a chocolate cake with melted chocolate glazed over the surface. It all felt so festive and exciting. I love this holiday! And heaven knows, we love a crowd. And now you know too!

No, you are not viewing an approaching UFO - nor are you shooting through space at lightning speed or experiencing worrisome visual disturbances. These are some jaw-dropping shots of the fireworks Jerald captured.

Summer was amazed at the fireworks show and loved it all so much that...she fell asleep ten minutes into the show! I'm so glad she saw some of the display, though. She had been much too excited to nap that afternoon, so her lack of sleep and the events of the day "gave proof through the night" the sheer exhaustion of the holiday that had set in. But while she slept, it gave me the sweet opportunity to cuddle her to my heart's content. It was a perfect day that left us with jolly memories of celebrating in our "land of the free and the home of the brave"!