.summer tolerant.

I'm not much of a summer girl...never have been really.  The heat is draining, I tolerate water, and much like my father, I have no business being out in the sun with my pasty Irish skin.  Despite my dislike for the warmest of seasons, the're are parts of it that I really enjoy.  I love summer nights with it's relief from the summer heat, and the smell of fresh cut grass.  I love the longer days when the daylight misleads you into thinking it's still quite early, when in fact it's nearly 10.  But most of all, I LOVE the summer storms that roll in in the afternoons and put on a show of lightning and thunder with the sweet smell of wet earth.  The Summer holidays also give one self a chance to forget the stifling heat, and just enjoy the atmosphere of festivities around you.
We spent our 4th catering to a 2 year old boy...and we loved every minute of it...almost.  This year I knew we had to hit up the parade so that Finn could take in the spectacle of the fire trucks and the floats.  I like a good parade as much as the next person, but Roy could absolutely care less if he ever went to one (I married an introvert...what are ya going to do?).  Luckily we live within walking distance of one, so we made our way to sit out in the hot sun and watch a very lack luster parade.  Not going to lie here,  the West Jordan Parade was pretty lame.  This is the part of the day that I could have passed on.  The beginning had all the glory with 2 fire trucks, and several police motorcycles which made Finn one happy boy, but it all went down hill after that.  A lot of thug cars with no specific purpose or sponsor...like they just got caught in the parade traffic, no patriotic music, no candy (that's why I go to parades anyways), and about 10 minutes between each thing.  So as much as Finn enjoyed what we stayed to watch, I don't think we will be doing THAT parade next year.

seeing something in the distance

"Firetrucks!!"

Lilly and Finn holding hands and watching together.

Oooohing at the one float that we saw...it had a plane on it.

daddy's face is the perfect handle.

As you can gather we left early, and beat the crowds home.  After a light lunch and a nice long nap for both children and parents, it was off to grandma's house for a BBQ, slip 'n slide, and fireworks.  When we got to my parents house, Roy helped cut down the dead Russian Olive tree that has hosted the tree house and zip line pad for the last several years.  It was determined that it had to go after my brother Sean announced he was getting married this fall.  One more wedding for the Sullivan backyard!  So after Emory and Lucas took their last runs down the zip line, the tree came down.  After the work, we were free to enjoy the shade of the backyard indulging in yummy summer salads and brisket while the cousins played in the water.

Finn and cousin Abner getting their pool filled.

the logical purpose of the slide is to race cars down it.

I just like this picture of Finn playing in the hose a lot

Meg being perfectly content in the shade

Dad and son getting ready for fireworks.

Every year we end up doing a neighborhood fireworks haul, where everyone just brings their fireworks and food to share, and we just sit back and enjoy the show.  Between the popsicles, doughnuts, cookies, and the hundreds of fireworks, this year was pretty stellar.  Finn wasn't too fond of the loud noises, but as long as I held him, he seemed to be ok with it all.  It was a happy 4th indeed!