Gazing at the Sky (4th of July)

  We began and ended our Independence Day celebration by looking into the sky - one riddled with morning sunbeams, the other a spread of darkness and stars.  There is so much to think about on the 4th of July, both good and bad, that often I just find myself acknowledging an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for past and present heroes, observance of where we are now and what America means to me and others, and fearful anticipation of what the future could hold if we do not hold our standards dear.  

  But I always escape my thoughts just long enough to enjoy the holiday activities.

  The festivities opened at the unholy hour of 6:00 am July 3rd, where Dustin and I laid in bed until we were running late (it was just too early to actually say farewell to my soft, soft pillow).  Rosie couldn't manage to wake up (since she still likes to get up in the middle of the night for an hour or so), but we took her along for her first Independence Day celebration.

 She slept through the whole thing.  

 The whole point of getting up so darn early was to see the flood of hot air balloons which open the Freedom Festival in Provo, Utah every year.  We met a few friends from Church, laid out our blanket, and watched more than 2 dozen balloons lay out, fill up, and take off.  It's pretty amazing, and I think it will become a yearly tradition for our family.

 

 

 

Rosie slept through the whole thing!  I guess that's better than crying through it, huh?

We look pretty tired, too.

And Rosie met her first mascot - the pink frisbee was a gift from Smokey the Bear!

Our adventure continued that evening with a quick trip up to Rupert, Idaho.  My mom's family is from there, and the 4th of July is what Rupert does best.  Some enthusiastic early-birds began the day with a 10k race, then we all headed to the Church for an Independence Day devotional, complete with donuts and juice (the program is much shorter now--as a child it was really hard to sit through an hour+ long lecture on how great America is, but now it is short and sweet--we get to hear from what few WWII veterans are left to carry on their legacy).

 Next was the Rupert 4th of July parade.  Most of the extended family meets up at the parade, and it is the highlight of the holiday.  This year we added in a little game of "phase 10" which made it extra enjoyable--but we made sure we stopped to watch the horses pass by (my favorite part).

 

 
 Again, Rosie slept through the whole thing :)

 

 This year was also memorable because not only did they throw popsicles, but we were given ICE CREAM as well, to keep cool - best parade ever!

 

  We stuffed ourselves at the traditional BBQ following the parade and visited for hours...then it was time to race back down to Utah.  Dustin, Rosie, and I made it to Provo just in time to meet up with Dustin's brother and head out to find a spot worthy of being our seat for Stadium of Fire fireworks.  I was a little worried about Rosie and the loud noises--but Daddy Dustin had ear protection all ready for her:

 Turns out, we didn't need it.  She LOVED them!  As soon as they started she quit crying and stared up at them exploding in the sky.  She watched for about 3 minutes and then SLEPT through the rest of the show.  What a trooper!!!

 

   I sure love this country and its heritage, full of human victory, mistakes, and endurance.  I hope we can keep her nobleness and her goodness with us for many years more.

Baby Rosie in Vogue

Our baby girl is 2 months now and growing like crazy.  My awesome friend Rachel Morgan has been doing photos for friends and businesses for years, so when she came to visit a few weeks ago she offered to snap a few of Rosie.

It wasn't the most pleasant experience for Rosie.  Sweet Rosalee has a spidey-sense that warns her when a camera is pointed at her and it makes her face screw up in unhappy expressions.  She was NOT a fan of being positioned, especially on her tummy.  I didn't have a Boppy or anything really to make the process easier (sorry Rachel) so our amazing photographer did what she could.  I was surprised how many of them actually turned out cute (even through the tears):

Then she started doing this weird cross-eyed thing - for the next three days Rosie kept looking at things cross-eyed.  Hasn't really happened before or since (yes, you may laugh at my child if you so desire).

And then she started getting a little grumpy.

and a little grumpier.

and then REALLY grumpy.

But we still grabbed a few where her adorable personality shone through.  

 

Thanks Rachel, and we love you, Rosalee!!

Rosie's First Vacation: Manti

Times sure flies - a good part of the summer has come and gone, and Rosie keep getting bigger  and more fun to play with.  Last weekend we took her on her first road-trip: we went to see Manti's Mormon Miracle Pageant with Grandma and Grandpa Fuller plus cousins.

She was great on the drive down!

Dad was a little tired from a full week of work :)

 

But Baby Rosie slept most of the way, too!

 

The verdict is...Rosie passes!  She is great at traveling.  The only hang up was when he got a little upset after having the biggest blowout of her short life at the little Malt Shop we stopped at for ice cream:

(I decided to spare you pictures of the blowout and just show the restaurant)

And for those of you who like to see, Rosie and I had a crib photo-shoot one morning this week - and I actually got her to smile!  She has red eyes in her pics just like I always do. We sure love her!