A family Fourth

We had a fantastic Fourth of July!

Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty are in town, and we had a great time together at the parade and later at the city's fireworks show.

Unlike most years, this Fourth was surprisingly temperate in SClarita. It only reached the 80s, instead of the 100s that seem to be normal for the holiday.

That, combined with an earlier parade starting time of 9 a.m., made for a very comfortable viewing environment. Stace and Bill, of course, loved all the classic cars.

After the parade and lunch, Cora napped and Patty and Violet and I did some grocery shopping. Then, in the evening, we had some people over for a barbecue.

Grandpa and Auntie Mel came by, as did Linda, Casey and Bradley. Linda brought some delicious salmon that we all enjoyed very much. Grandma, Steve, Matt and Kelly are all at a camp for young people with special needs in northern Arizona.

After dinner, it was fireworks time. We parked at Granary and walked, just like last year, and both girls loved the show. Violet, even at two months old, was watching intently.

Stace let Cora have a turn with our new, big camera, and she took the last photo here of the rest of her family. Not bad!

We noticed a lot of emergency vehicles flying by during the show right off the road we were sitting on. Tragically, a lady blew a red light and hit another car, which then went into a crowd of people around the corner from us. A mom was killed and several kids injured. So terribly sad; the news certainly put a damper on an otherwise great day.