Pre-Vacation "Fourth" Celebreation

It's July 3rd, but today we celebrated the 4th of July. Covid caused us to all skip this tradition in 2020, so it was nice that we were able to get together for breakfast and a parade today with our community. There wasn't a fun run, but that's ok, cause that gave me more morning time to go on a bike ride at Corner Canyon and get in my workout 💪. I biked up from the cycle park along the main path up, then up a little more until I reached Clark's Trail, took that east until I got to Peak View, then took Rush down, it's so fun! I didn't fall this time, yay. Going uphill along Clarks Trail was a killer. I have more endurance to build up. I got ready for the day while Corey took the kids over to the breakfast. 

Lily brought paints to decorate people's faces. but then she lost her paintbrush, so she used a pine needle. 

Sophi and her friend Kelsy made plans to dress up and decorate their bikes and they rode in the parade. 

Lily continuing her work while we waiting for the parade fun to begin.

I brought chairs! We found a good spot to sit in the shade, sweet. Kelsy shared a sucker with Peter from the bag full of treats they had to throw to the audience during their parade ride. 

Abi, Peter and me above, below Natalie, Owen, and Daniel read to catch some candy loot!

All the kids that were biking went last in the parade. I think it might have been tricky for Sophi and Kelsy to bike slowly and throw suckers at the same time. 

The parade started at 10. Sophi and Kelsy might have been waiting in the parking lot. After riding all the way down the street they were pretty exhausted. Corey headed home with the kids and I waited for  Sophi. 

(Peter is soooo cute (last pic) riding that shotgun seat, I love it.) I texted Kelsy's mom and she found K&S at the end of the parade route and they were going to wait a while in the shade a bit longer. So I walked back home - Peter has a new way of slunking down the stairs that is funny, I'll try to get a video of it sometime.

The original plan for today was to pack for Lake Tahoe so that the cars were packed and ready to go so that we could walk out the door tomorrow right after church, but instead the day got away from us and we didn't pack like at all. It was just a busy day, kids wanted to play and wouldn't let Corey or I get work done, so instead of letting them watch a movie so we could be productive, Corey took them biking. It was way too hot to go biking, imho. Daniel or Peter were going to ride shotgun with Corey, but they both fell asleep on the ride up the canyon, so I just took them back home, dropped them off, then headed to Costco for a pre-vacation snacks run. I got Pringles, Almond Biscotti, Goldfish, fruit snacks, and 2 boxes of rruit leather, and with that I trust we'll survive the drive down.

I dropped off CN and O near the Lisa Falls trailhead and they biked all the way home!

This was Natalie's first time riding down the quarry trail.

When they got back home, I had ice cold water ready for them. Natalie's face gave evidence to the heat outside.

At 5:15 Corey and I headed out to Payson to have dinner with Father David and a friend of his who used to be LDS. His friend Chris was really interesting, and I can't remember his wife's name but she is from the Phillipines and Chris made dinner for us, and it was a delicious coconut curry, and they gave us lots of culinary secrets as to the best kind of curry pastes to buy and the best coconut milk and coconut cream brand (Aroy-D) and I might start shopping at the Asian market now cause I want to eat that everyday, it was delicious.

And the dates from Aziz Farms! Yum, those are also at the Asian market, I love dates.

I have my new meals planned out forever - coconut curries and rice for dinner. I brought ice cream for dessert and a flat of peaches, cause there is just one more months of Costco Summer peaches where they are usually perfect (aka before they turn into apple texture). Corey and I were hungry because we had been fasting. It seemed like a good opportunity, since it's Fast Sunday tomorrow anyway, to start a fast together after date night last night, which we did, and then end it in the car before we went in for dinner. So it was a good plan, and we were praying to be guided and inspired in comments we made during our dinner discussion. Payson is an hour away, and I thought if it went well we'd be home between 9-10. But we didn't leave until 10:45. And that was only cause at 10:30 Father David was like "Sorry guys... I have to preach tomorrow, I need to go to bed..." so then Chris was like "shoot! Sorry!" I had been watching the time, but we hadn't tried to make an exit. I'm sure we'll visit with them again. I think Father D is going to send Corey some stuff to study about how matter is not eternal, which was one thing that came up near the end of our conversation, and they were saying, I think, that believing that matter is eternal means that matter is "a god" to us as well as God? And you can't have two Gods? Something like that, I don't know, it's late, we have a long day tomorrow. I texted the kids that we wouldn't be home until 11:45 but if they could get ready for bed that would be great. When we got home Peter was still awake and playing cars and didn't want to go to sleep. Abi took a shower, and when she was done she texted me a picture of Peter, who eventually put himself to sleep. 

That is a hard mattress. I put him in his bed, it's well past midnight now, we have church at 9 tomorrow and then a long drive to Lake Tahoe area after we pack and load up. I think I'm going to be tired. Goodnight.