A Blast of a 4th!

The 4th began with a bang when I got a text message congratulating me for winning a mountain bike from I.M. Home! I can't say I never win anything now. Grandma and Grandpa Besaw picked up Morgan around 2:00 for a special day together while we attended the various festivities in Provo. On our way, we stopped at Krispy Kreme to enjoy free donuts (from coupons we got on Valentine's Day of all things) and checked out the bike. Thus ended the free stuff, so we stopped at McDonald's for a cold drink and then headed over to the Freedom Festival.


We wandered through the festival booths (who knew there were so many different jewelry and headband distributors!) heading to meet the presidential candidate we support: Chuck Baldwin. It was a pleasure to meet and visit with him. He is a good, wise, and honest man—a breath of fresh air, especially compared to Obama and McCain. Remember, you do have another choice!

After getting our fill of booth shopping and picking up a ninja sword, earrings, and Hannah Montanna lotion and chapsticks as souvenirs, we visited Colonial Days at the Crandall Historic Printing Museum. The things displayed there were amazing reminders of what our Founding Fathers and their families had to go through just to function in daily life.


At the Colonial Days celebration we got to listen to "George Washington" tell us a few stories about his life. We learned that he really did cut down that cherry tree, but his inability to fib had nothing to do with it. Rather, he was angry at his younger brother for keeping him from "town" to help with the chores, even though young 9-year-old George had just finished chopping wood.

To vent his frustration, axe in hand, he took a swipe at the young cherry tree his father had planted just two years before. Still angry, he took a second swipe, which chopped the tree in two. After a good licking, his father, Augustine, told him he wasn't licked for chopping the tree, but for letting his anger get the best of him. Augustine let him know that he must always consider the consequences of his actions and control his temper. Interestingly, on Augustine's deathbed, he told George he'd never struck anyone out of anger, and that he hoped George would always keep his anger in check, which he consciously sought to do throughout his life.

Overall the colonial experience made our country's birthday celebration much more poignant, and we're so grateful for the blessing it is to our family to live in this great nation!


After listening to "George" we grabbed dinner at Hogi Yogi and headed into Stadium of Fire. After counting down for two months (since their birthday) Mackenzie and Madison were excited to FINALLY have the chance to see MILEY CYRUS!!! I don't know if I've ever seen them as awestruck as they were getting their first glimpse of the stadium crowd, but it quickly changed to pure glee.

The performance was amazing. There really is no other way to describe it. The Blue Man Group was original, funny, and even more enjoyable than we expected. Miley was great at getting everyone involved in the party. The girls (and Clayton) were great at squealing . . . along with the other 50,000 or so pre-teen fans.

As you can see, we had a great time. I will always remember Mackenzie and Madison singing "See You Again" from the stands.


We were a little worried about our seats being too close to the firework launching area, but it was fabulous. They were right there in our faces; it was a spectacular way to end the night. This year's Independence Day was an experience we will never forget!