LeRoy and Derek rode in the BMW for the parade
Bret represented a dashing Uncle Sam on the Dollar Tree float.
Erika, Nathan and Hyrum walked with the Citizens For Decency crowd to represent Bret
(his internship is with CFD but as assistant manager he was required to be with DT)
Justin walked, cheered, and flipped with the Madison Cheer Squad
Erika is a very supportive wife! She pulled together some of Bret's interns to make t-shirts for the parade. When she called me on the 2nd to see if I had vinyl and paint they could use (no budget with CFD because it is non-profit), I really didn't think it would come together. Sometimes I forget and underestimate the tenacity of this girl. The evening of July 3rd found my kitchen filled with interns, t-shirts, contact paper, paint, brushes and one handy-dandy Cricut Cutter. By 7am on the 4th the shirts were dry and parade ready. Though Bret is the managing intern over all the interns for Citizens For Decency, Erika's crafty qualifications filled in beautifully!
Levi, Daymia and I caught the beginning of the parade before Levi ran off to be the lone man holding down the Radio Shack fort. Daymia and I waited in the hot sun for each of our family members to parade by. Somehow the cheer team snuck up on us (probably because we were so caught up in the Ray's Chevron male dancers . . . hahaha, that sounds funny!) so we only saw the end of Justin's flip routine. Determined to see the full set of flips, we ran down main street and around the corner watching two different dance routines from the cheerleaders before we could record his next set.
Justin did "9 and a full" several times in the parade, which means 9 back hand springs and a full flip. That many flips on the hot paved road left behind burns, pebble pocks and road rash but the cheering crowd "almost made it worth it".
After the parade, LeRoy ran home to grill the fish that Nathan and Hyrum had caught.
I started making the salad and cutting up cantaloupe and watermelon when LeRoy burst into the kitchen freaked out that I was using one of his demolition watermelons for lunch. I calmly explained that I had bought my own watermelon for lunch and his four watermelons were still under custody in the garage waiting their explosive demise.
Corn on the cob leaves us looking a little Shrekish in the teeth but it sure is a summer favorite!
I spent the rest of the day in silent, fervent prayer. This dynamite activity has blown it's boundaries! In previous years they have used dynamite that was only 1/4 sticks (only?!?!) and this year LeRoy decided to go with 1/2 sticks so now they are shattering solid logs instead of squishy watermelons. Unlike watermelon, the log didn't spray little bits or even small chunks in a reasonable area, it blew three huge chunks in three far reaching directions - one of which happened to be shooting directly at Nathan's head. In some divine twist, the log chunk dropped right at his side without hitting him. Only a mother's prayers are protecting these kids now because all sensibility has been lost.
Derek didn't help my fears any when he came running in with pain written all over his face. He had tried to set off a firework inside a plastic container and it went off before he put it down. It fired off in his hand and, thankfully, only took a chunk out of his finger instead of the whole finger or hand. Part of the plastic embed itself into his flesh and once we got that out he had a major burn to deal with. Professional help was considered but after a short time he thought it would be okay. After several days of severe pain and peeling off burned skin, a new pink layer started to grow in.
As a double dose of bad luck, Derek also lost his wallet containing his driver's license, debit card, insurance card and SS card. That's like handing someone your entire identity! It wasn't until two months and a paper trail of inconvenience later that his wallet was found under the seat of the BMW.
The only upside I've found to blowing up watermelons and pumpkins was growing along the ditch bank.
I like it when the dark finally comes because we pull out the less-dangerous fireworks; the pretty ones. I can finally take a breathe that we will (hopefully) only have a few slight burns rather than possible death. Charlie, however, did not like it at all. He wasn't scared of the booming sounds or colorful display but our social fur ball really, really wanted to be right in the middle of all the craziness. He nearly lost his doggy voice from barking so much. But, his stolen hamburger feast and tipping over of every drink and running off with all sorts of garbage was proof that his self control in public situations is severely lacking.
Shortly after midnight the older seven kids followed their three year tradition and left for Denny's in Idaho Falls. LeRoy, Nathan, Hyrum and I headed to bed! So glad another 4th of July is done.
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