god bless america

i love america and i love the fourth of july. 

last year we were in a fire zone, so we had no fireworks. (we went to the zoo, which was great, but there is just something about fireworks) this year we got our fair share of parades, good ole fourth food,  fireworks, fun, and more! 

fourth of july wear.

a lovely surprise: ripe tomatoes from our garden!

we went to the parade for a hot minute, but after realizing we forgot to bring a blanket to sit on AND that they weren't even throwing out candy, so we decided to opt for breakfast.

is there better breakfast than kneaders?

after breakfast we decided to head to seven peaks, expecting lots of crowds and long lines. 

we were pumped to discover that everyone else had found other things to do, so seven peaks was pretty empty. we went on all the slides. i even braved the crazy orange one. it took lots of courage. 

see? it's crazy. can you spot andrew up there?

after seven peaks we shared a giant necatrine and mango shave ice. yum.

(p.s. this one is the small size)

can you say no to a snow cone as big as your face?

we finished the night with a company barbecue and lots and lots of fireworks. andrew's boss did his own little (sometimes scary) show in his cul de sac. him and a neighbor about three houses down were definitely trying to one up the other... it made for an interesting night. then as we were driving home we saw that the sugarhouse fireworks were just starting, so we pulled over and watched from afar.

though not everything about this country is perfect, i am so grateful for the freedoms we share.

 i am proud to be an american. 

the celebration continued a few days later with a fabulous trip up to the family cabin and a good ole rodeo. 

it was a little rainy, but we braved it the classy way... by wearing trash bags.

luckily my mulletted brother-in-law pulled through with a truly classy cowboy hat and western shirt. 

this cute couple was looking good too. 

despite the rain, we had a blast. the rodeo was great, and we loved the team roping and the bareback riding!

stu whipped out a full body trash bag outfit. the announcer called him "white trash," which i suppose is fitting. 

 i'm not really sure why but i love a good rodeo, and i loved going with people who actually knew what was going on and how each event was scored. i'm a rodeo pro now. it really was such a fun night, and they ended it with another firework show. keep the celebrations going!

and i loved hearing about my cute missionary sister's fourth in guatemala. she is having a blast and i am so proud of her. 

i hope you had a very happy fourth of july, and (if you live in utah) a lovely pioneer day. 
God bless America! 

celebrations

Anj took the MCAT a little over a month ago. 

 it was a long, hard test that took 4 months of studying over 40 hours a week. yikes!

we celebrated the test being over with a round or two of mini golf. 

 a few weeks later anj applied to med schools all across the country,

without knowing his MCAT score. (scary!)

 when the nights of editing and more editing were over and anj pressed the submit button, we celebrated quite joyously with some drinks at sonic. 

a month after the MCAT we FINALLY found out his score. it came in earlier in the day than we expected and when he got the email that it had be updated, we were both at work, and we both started freaking out! although we wanted to find out together, neither of us could focus on anything. he kept asking if he should open it, and when i finally said yes, a customer had just walked in! when he finished up with the customer and i had finished haphazardly training someone (i really could not focus), he called me!! i walked outside and just started crying because i was so anxious and nervous. a month of waiting is pretty killer. he opened up the email and all of the sudden he just started yelling and screaming!! it was the loudest, happiest scream of excitement i have ever heard, and that made me start bawling. i just knew he had gotten exactly what he wanted, a 34. when he had stopped screaming, he confirmed that he had indeed gotten a 34. his had work and hours of studying had paid off, and i know all the prayers and fasting and support from our entire family and our friends had played a big part. so a big thanks to all who thought about us during this crazy time of life, we truly appreciate your love. 

because we were SO PUMPED about his score, we bought tickets, on a whim, to the USA vs. Honduras World Cup qualifier game at Rio Tinto. they were pricey, but so worth it, and it just happened to be national splurge day!

 we both got off work early and headed straight for the game. 

they were doing free facepaint, so of course, we got some! i had to get some honduras face paint in honor of jenn, who will be headed to honduras in three short weeks! WOAH!

 the atmosphere at the game was awesome, but seeing how excited anj was to be there was even better. 

he went allll out for the occasion.

 they also gave everyone free world cup soccer scarves at the door which was pretty exciting. 

did i tell you the atmosphere there was just downright crazy?!?

so much USA pride!

and a surprising amount of honduras pride too. 

 it was so, so, so much fun to see the stadium completely decked out in red, white and blue.

 and i loved cheering on the team with this guy.

i am so proud of him.

we feel so loved and so blessed.

it was a crazy month of waiting, but in the end, it was all worth it. 

we definitely celebrated. 

oh, and USA won.

p.s. i LOVE the fourth of july. i LOVE America! did you have a great independence day?