usa! usa!

the fourth of july is one of my favorite times of year. i love the heat, the family time, the fireworks, the patriotic spirit everyone seems to have. i just love all that there is to do in july. this year, we kept busy with lots of things to do.

first, we had the lehi parade. every year, all the wards in lehi put on a big parade down main street. it is very small-town-esque but i love it. we had helped with our ward's float so it was fun to see them coming.

vi was sure to give all the floats that passed a big thumbs up or a peace sign. secretly she was hoping they would throw candy at her.

the next day we had the freedom 5k for the fourth of july in provo. xactware sponsors us to run this race every year and it has become a fun family tradition.

the girls were all buckled up and ready for the run.

and this picture was taken about 5 minutes before we lost violet... such a happy family.

then she was gone! we all went into a panic as we searched through the THOUSANDS of people and we weren't having much luck. we finally found her being escorted onto the event stage- all smiles. it was a scary moment that taught us to be sure that we have tight grasps on those little ones. yikes!

after the race, we met up with cade's family for the freedom parade in provo. the kids LOVED it. it really is a great parade. vi just thinks she is so grown up around her big cousins.

later that day, we headed to my mom's house for a fabulous barbecue and some time with family. we always get some pretty crazy fireworks that makes for an interesting time.

isn't ivy just miss liberty herself!? to. die. for.