independence day

we had a lovely time celebrating our independence here in america.

we both had friday off, so we began our much-anticipated bathroom remodel. i should clarify: we began out bathroom destruction, prior to our remodel. we ripped off all the tile from the walls, pulled out the vanity, toilet, bathtub and existing walls around the shower. we worked super hard, but thanks to a few of my siblings, we got more done than i anticipated. we're still a long ways off, but it will be great when it's gone.

friday evening we went to the real salt lake soccer game with nick and kadee. have i mentioned how much i love kadee? for so many reasons, not the least of which is her instrumental role in branson and i getting together. she is one of my favorites. the soccer game was fun - nice kept us entertained by throwing a mild fit when a drill team came on for halftime. the night was made complete by a fantastic firework show following the game.

i love fireworks. they make me so happy.

saturday morning, we went to the annual mock 4th of july breakfast. the food, as always, was delicious and the company was just as good. we had fun visiting with alex and sarah, and several other brickyard ward members. after the breakfast, we continued working on the bathroom.

we hosted a bbq for our family - and spent the evening with branson's parents (who are in town), kendyll's family, cousins, grandma and grandma lowman, my family and grandma. it was a nice party. the weather was quite nice, and the food was excellent.

after dinner, we ventured over to the jr high field a few blocks away to watch more fireworks. i think it was the longest firework display i've ever seen. it was wonderful. seriously, we're talking about 35 minutes. thirty five! incredible. and of course, branson had to light off a few when we got home to complete our celebration.

it was a good holiday weekend. it ended too soon, but weekends always do.

but, i forgot to break out the popcicles at our bbq (we had cake and rootbeer floats, too) so i am getting through this week with orange dream bars. because what's summer without popcicles?