July 4th

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We started out the day with a 5k run. Bill, me, Alex, and Austin ran the Layton Liberty Days Fun Run. Ben originally signed up but went to bed the night before with a slight stomach ache which unfortunately was still there in the morning. Without a second thought, Alex volunteered to fill in for him. Everyone did great: Bill finished in 20 minutes (shattering his previous personal best of 22 minutes), Alex finished in 33 minutes, and Austin and I finished in 51 minutes. I was proud of Austin for wanting to try the 5k - I just think he didn't realize how far 3 miles really is. I knew we were in a little trouble when we had been running just 2 minutes and he asked if we had gone a mile yet. By mile 2.5, I was motivating (bribing) him with a trip to the fireworks stand and the possibility of picking out whatever he wanted (under $5, of course). That helped to get a little spring in his step and enough energy to pass a couple of straggling kids and not be dead last. Overall, it was a fun race to do.

We then went to breakfast and the local Layton parade. We cheered for our neighbor and good friend, Keith Bagley, who had been selected as a Hometown Hero and was invited to ride in the parade.

Then it was off to visit our good friend Angie who had her baby the night before. The kids were so excited to see little Brady and each wanted a turn to hold him. He is such a little cutie.

That night we had a little barbeque and lit fireworks with our good friends the Francis and Hess Families. I have to say I was surprised at how sparklers, little smoke bombs, and pop-its are still the favorites of all the kids. Who needs the $20-a-pop illegal stuff? Our evening of fountains and sparklers were big crowd pleasers.