Let Freedom Ring!

The 4th of July for me was a day in which I seemed to just bounce from one thing to another. I didn't make any plans in advance since I had overheard my roommate and a friend already brainstorming ideas over a week before the holiday. There were wish-list things I had in my mind of things that I would have liked to do, but knew that it would be disappointing if I didn't join the group of friends in their planned activities. So, I just sat back and let the day roll -giving one activity suggestion - but not putting too much hope into it in case it fell through and we didn't do it.

The day started with the Rexburg parade. I had a very pleasant walk from my apartment to downtown/Main street as I talked with my little brother Ben on the phone. I ended up getting there just in time to see the last two parade cars reach the end of the road and everybody beginning to pack up and leave. I called me roommate and met up with her and the gang at Destin & Nate's house where we attempted to make plans for the remaider of the day.

It was about lunch time and we decided to hit up a place for a bite to eat and then go to a friend's house to jump on their trampoline with the sprinklers under it. Out of the six of us, only three made it to lunch at the Great Harvest and then we bagged the trampoline idea because of other obligations people had. But lunch at the Great Harvest was VERY tasty and the company was great.

With still no set plans for the evening except the Chucker's baseball game that evening in Idaho Falls I got dropped off at home expecting to find my roommate home cleaning up the house - it was her excuse and ticket out of going to lunch. But I found the apartment empty and her car gone. Shortly after arriving home I received a phone call from Jessica inviting me to join her and Amber at Smith Park to walk around and see all the vendors and whatnot. I asked if I could bring my slack line equimpment and if they would be willing to try it out. They both seemed excited about it. That made me excited because I have been itching to go slack lining for a long time and it takes a few people and their man-power to set up a good, tight slack line.

I grabbed my slack line bag and headed out the door. As I was walking to Smith Park I learned that Adria, my sister-in-law, was in town with her whole family visiting. I was very surprised that she was in town. We quickly made plans to meet up in Idaho Falls for the firework show.


I found Jessica and Amber quickly upon arriving at Smith Park and our first activity was to ride the carosel. This brought back lots of childhood memories as we sat on the galloping horses and went around and around in a circle.

Jessica and Amber enjoying their horsey ride.

I suggested that we have a race to see who could get around the carosel by jumping from horse to horse. Touching the ground was illegal. Neither of them didn't seem too excited about the spontaneous and random adventure idea, stating that we'd get kicked off. With some truth to that statement I was still disappointed that they didn't want to join me in the fun. Sure we may have gotten kicked off, but that was probably only as far as it would have gone. Plus, there were no signs that prohibited that kind of activity.....

After the horsey ride we found a good spot in the park to set up the slack line. It took me a little bit to remember how to do it since it has been a year since the last time I set one up. But nonetheless I was able to get it up! I taught the basic principles of slack lining to Jessica and Amber and then watched in great amusement in their attempts to do it - of course, supporting, helping, and encouraging them as they did it.

As they were taking turns walking the slack line I scanned the park and did a little bit of people watching - something that I love to do. I noticed across the street from where we were located a family BBQ going on. As I watched their activities for a little bit I began to recognize a few people. "That looks like Adria's mom. That looks like her older brother.....her younger brother..." I grabbed my cell phone and texted Adria to ask if she was near a blue canopy tent, holding a baby, and having a BBQ. A few minutes later I looked back over there and Adria was standing on the side of the street waving to me. It was her!

She crossed the street and we chatted for a bit and I attempted to persuade her to try out the slack line, but she was insistant that she didn't, which I didn't understand. She didn't seem to have a problem learning how to longboard after meeting my older brother, which is a significantly more dangerous sport than slack lining. Maybe the fact that a boy was attached to the longboard was more motivating for her.

I walked back across the street with her and visited with her mom and little nephew for a little bit before my roommate came over to tell me that they were done slack lining and wanted to head over to Wal-Mart to get a frisbee. So Adria and I said goodbye with the plans of meeting up again later that night for the firework show. It was SO great to have that random chance of seeing her.

Making the final preparations for our evening in Idaho Falls, Jessica and I met up with Amber, Marilee, & Chad. We piled into my truck and were off by 6:00pm for the Chucker's baseball game. A couple of us weren't too thrilled to go to the baseball game, but went to support others and for the social atomosphere. Upon arriving in Idaho Falls we discovered that all of the direct routes to the stadium were blocked off, but we managed to find some back roads that lead us to the stadium. We were about half an hour late but we managed to get good seats as well as meet up with Amber's friend David.

The baseball game was a lot more enjoyable than expected, which was a bonus. I enjoyed the company I was with and kept an eye on the events of the game at the same time. The one and only suggestion that I made to contribute to the 4th of July activities was to hit up the Outback Stakehouse for some good food and great seats for the fireworks. This is what I did last year with my good friends. It was a great success and a TON of fun. We literally had to lay on the ground to watch the fireworks because they were being shot off right in front of us. Surprisingly everybody agreed to make this attempt.

Four of us left the game early in order to get into Outback Stakehouse before it was full. I was very weary and didn't have much hope of getting into the parking lot there because of how late we were leaving to go try. But when we pulled up and said we were here to eat they said we were lucky because there were only two spots left. We were so excited and mostly surprised we made it. We parked and then went in for a delicious dinner.

Amber and Dave met up with us shortly after we finished eating and we all climbed into the back of my truck, which was laid with the futon pad, blankets, and pillows, and we all got comfy and we waited for the fireworks. Marilee brought glow in the dark sticks which we had fun playing with as we waited.

The firework show was qued with a local radio station. We tuned into it and cranked it up and listened to it as we watched the half an hour long firework display. It was a great show and really brought the feeling of pride for being an American, living in America, and a deep sense of gratitude for all the people and sacrifices that happened in order for this country to be a free country.

Isn't it great to be an American!!