Star Spangled Day

Our 4th of July was great this year. It's the first time in 4 years that I have been back for the holiday, and I was pretty excited, even though I was without Pete for the first time in 8 years. As we were attending all of the events of the day, I thought about some of the 4th of July holidays I spent as a kid. The 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays, and I have never been able to explain why. I think I figured it out this year. It is because of the way we spent the holiday every year. My dad was on the fire department when I was growing up, and the fire department had a lot to do with the holiday. Until I was about 10 years old, I rode on the firetrucks in the parades with all the other department kids, including my little brother, Ryan, and my two cousins, Shari and Shawna. My uncle was on the department, as well as my grandpa, who was the chief for about 40 years.

We would then head to the park for the carnival, which as a kid was really exciting. We would stay there for hours, eat lunch there, and a bunch of junk food. We would stay for the Fire Department vs. the Police Department softball game. It was so fun to cheer for the firemen, and the best part about that game was that I knew everyone that was playing. It was pretty cool as a kid to think that everyone on that field knew me, as well. I don't think they play that game anymore; one of the officers, Bonnie, was hit in the face by the ball, and
went through major surgery. I remember that game, too.

After that (and usually some naps) we would head to the park again for the fireworks. This was my grandma's favorite part of the day. Sure, she liked to see all of us on the firetrucks in the parade, but the fireworks always topped that. We would almost always get KFC to eat, and my entire family would come. Aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, sometimes people I had never met would show up. It was always so fun to have someone to play in the park with. This was the only part of the day that I had anything negative to say. Until I was 12, I had never seen a fireworks show with my dad. He was always either lighting the fireworks (this was before they were contracted out ), or working the firewatch. If the sirens went off, so did dad, and we might not see him until the next morning.

So this year, I wanted my kids to have the same experience that I always did. Earlier in the week, we took the kids down to the new Davis Firestation to see the trucks and meet the chief, who is a life-long friend of the family. He asked Noah if he would like to ride on the truck in the parade, and Noah ecstatically agreed. The morning of the 4th, I dropped Noah and my dad at the firestation and took everyone else to watch the parade. Of course, Annie had the parade wave down; I am not sure she ever stopped waving at the people in the parade. Cooper wasn't fond of all the noise, but he got over it. And Noah was very proud that he got to ride on the truck and throw candy at the parade-watchers, especially aunt Sally and her family.









Next we headed over to the park for some snow-cones and a few rides. We walked around and, of course, bought some knick-knacks (isn't that what you do at the fair?). The kids rode on the bouncy slide, Annie took a few turns in the bounce house, and Noah took a few turns in the bouncy obstacle course. They were both wiped out by the end of the afternoon.


After most in the house took naps, we went back to park for fireworks, KFC in hand. We had already picked out a spot and reserved it with some blankets. When we got there some of the city workers were doing some last minute checks, and took Noah and Annie for a ride on their cart. The kids loved having people to play with. We didn't have nearly the amount of people that we used to have at the fireworks, but everyone has grown up. They all have their own families now, and their own traditions. The kids loved the fireworks. Annie was lovin' hangin' out with my cousin Andrew, and Noah played with all the other boys. Cooper was, of course, passed around like a doll, but he loves the attention. He didn't love the fireworks; he doesn't like loud noises. So once I put earplugs in him, he was fine, and then fell asleep. The fireworks are different for me, now that I have kids. When I was little, I couldn't get enough of them. Now I am content to watch them for a few minutes, and then focus my attention on my kids. I love to watch their reactions.