We’ve spent the past few 4th of Julys in Steamboat Springs, but this year, we decided to stick around home. We didn’t feel up for facing giant crowds, so we opted to host our our neighborhood bike parade and breakfast. We created a giant 30-foot balloon arch (all Brandon’s idea) which was a huge hit. Little did we know that so many would love the balloon arch, including KSL Studio 5 who saw my picture on Instagram and asked me to be on their show and talk about the arch.

More exciting than that, however, was seeing the giant smiles of all the little kids riding their bikes and scooters down the street, scrambling to pick up candy from the “parents parade” and having new neighbors stay a while for a casual breakfast on our front lawn.

After the party, we took a nap, and then Sarah and her boyfriend came over to swim in our pool. Then we headed to my dad’s for a BBQ and fireworks at Kaysville. We didn’t get home until 1 am, but it was a party in the USA. We love the fourth.