The 4th of July

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays.  One reason is that my birthday comes exactly in between the 4th and the 24th, so I celebrate all month long.  The best thing for me, however, is the parades.  When I was growing up in Midvale, my grandparents lived on Center Street.  Center street was also the parade route for the city, so we would spend the day at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We had hassle-free prime spots for parade viewing.  The year I was six, I got to be on a float, and it was a 4th of July highlight.  I was one of the seven dwarfs - the pink one on the front.

I loved the floats but was afraid of the horses.  By the time I was in junior high, I was itching to be in a parade again.  The chances of being a "queen" were slim, and I'd done marching band for one summer, but I guess a random clarinet player in the middle wasn't quite enough recognition for me.  The girls my age in the neighborhood decided that we would just enter the parade and do a cheer routine.  Mind you, not a one of us was cheerleader material (although we did produce three high school athletes from the bunch).  That didn't stop us, though,  We bought pompoms and matching striped shirts in our junior high colors, made up some pretty lame routines, and entered the parade.  

This is part of the crew.  I'm on the left, followed by Kamie Kallas, Erica Zillner, Robin Hansen, and Melanie Mansfield.  We were joined by Lynne and Jackie Reber and JoAnn Tucker, who didn't make the picture:)

Lucky for me, when we moved to Riverton, we were again walking distance from the parade route.  Since Riverton holds the parade on the evening of the 3rd, we get floats from all over the valley.  It is great, and we come home with tons of candy.

The top photo is my oldest daughter, Jaime, at the West Jordan parade with her cousin Allie, and the bottom photo shows the next generation, her kids Jayden and Mykena at the Riverton parade this year:)  I hope everyone has a great and safe holiday!

The Best Thing about Summer

The best thing about summer is that I actually have time to do all those things that are impossible during the school year like, for instance, writing a blog.  Also, actually having a semi-clean house, having time to exercise with my beautiful daughter, actually reading a book for fun WITHOUT falling asleep, and being able to be of use to my neighbors and family.  Going to Costco on a weekday.  Going outside. Taking vacations. Volunteering at the Arts Festival. Sleeping in (and by sleeping in I mean 6:00 instead of 4:45:)).  Basically, doing whatever I want pretty much every minute.

This is the first summer that is really true.  I've raised 5 kids, so doing whatever I want hasn't always been an option.  But, my baby graduated from high school this month and can take care of herself if she needs to.  I have always loved summer.  Maybe it is because my birthday is in July.  I haven't always been a teacher, so I don't take my summertime off for granted.  Believe it or not, one of the things I love to do in the summer is work.  I've been a teacher for 11 years now, and it is harder than I ever imagined.  Like most teachers I know, I spend at least some of the summer taking classes, attending workshops, or planning lessons for the next year.  I love the professional relationships I make and the pressure-free environment of exploring the many subjects I teach.  Having the excuse to keep learning is one of the best things about being a teacher, but I guess I'll save that topic for my next post.

Feel free to let me know what the best things are for you, either on the topics I choose or some of your own.  Thanks for reading!