On the 24th of July in Utah, there is the Pioneer Day Parade in downtown Salt Lake. We joined my parents, Joel and his family, and Audrey and her kids for the morning. The highlight of the parade for me was President Hinckley in a convertible. He fronted the parade and waved to everyone with a large grin on his face. There were
many people in the
parade who walked along the side and shook people's hands. Toward the end, Brandon finally got up the courage to shake some of the clown's hands and thoroughly enjoyed the tall clown. It was fun to see all of the stake floats and the high school marching bands. It was sunny and it got a little hot, but the kids stayed cool under the umbrellas with large watermelon popsicles courtesy of my sister Audrey. Overall, it was a great way to start the day and get into the spirit of the holiday.
Later that night, my whole family got together for dinner and fireworks. It was the first time that all of my siblings had been together in a couple of years. It was great to be with everyone and fo
r all of the cousins to play together.