My mom is one of the Vice Presidents of the Freedom Festival so for our family, the Fourth of July is a combination of really exciting patriotic events mixed with barbecues and the biggest firework show in the country.
Our holiday started out with the annual Patriotic Service in the Marriott Center. Last year, Steve Young was the keynote speaker and I interviewed him for this article, (last year I also pulled double duty as a stage manager? Stage worker? Theatrical friends, what is this called? My mom volunteered my 5 month pregnant sister and myself to dress in black and move the sets on and off the stage during scene changes... good times Mom.)
This year, there was no keynote speaker, it was more of a program. It was really incredible. All you who live in Provo and have never been, you are missing out! Oh that's a picture of my cute parents afterward
This is my parents with my niece Lily and Miss United Nations and Miss Africa Utah. Miss United Nations is from Tajikistan. This was pretty cool because I got to spend the day with the ambassador of Tajikistan when they came for an ambassador's picnic on Governor's Island, NY hosted by the LDS Public and International Affairs office. I told you there was still a lot I wanted to blog about New York.
My parents gave us tickets to a Mark Wills/Mark Chesnutt concert, which was awesome. We sat next to Miss America, who I'm sorry to tell you, wears a wig. But she wears it well! We were able to go to a meet and greet before the concert, and they were really funny. Especially Mark Wills, you can tell he loves his fans.
This is my cute mom and Blake.
One of my favorite parts of our annual Fourth of July celebration is the Freedom Awards Gala. It's a formal dinner where 3-4ish people are awarded each year for their outstanding contributions to promoting freedom. F. Enzio Busche, an emeritus member of the Quorum of the Seventy was one of the people awarded this year. It's always a great celebration for freedom, as well as a strong reminder to be grateful for the freedoms we all experience each day living in America.
Honey wore one of my high school dance dresses! She looked gorgeous, and could definitely zip it up easier than I could.
In the middle of our celebrations, Natalie had her adorable baby, Eliza Clawson! She's gorgeous, and Natalie is such a rockstar. She definitely didn't look like she just had a baby. Peterson grandbaby #9. That is crazy!
Blake came to the hospital to help watch kids in the lobby during the delivery.
Then, of course, we finished up with the Stadium of Fire! (Blake politely informed me that he might kill me if I sing the song one more time.) We were able to go backstage to the pre-show and post-show and hang out with the performers. Good times!
Here's Chad Lewis at the pre-show, He went to my elementary school, junior high, and high school. I'm sure he remembers coming to my elementary school for an assembly to encourage us all to read when I was in fourth grade. I'm sure that had just as strong of an impact on him as it did on me. :)
We finished off the week by going to the festival in Provo and buying matching ties for our little guy and Blake. Oh adorable! We had such a great time! Thanks mom and dad :)
1 comment:
What a fun celebration! I love seeing pictures of your hubby with kids. He looks like he'll be a natural at parenting (and I'm sure you will too!) I can't wait to see pictures of him with your baby boy!
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