a very happy 4th

I love the 4th of July for many, many reasons. July, in fact, is one of my four favorite months. You see, July embodies everything that is summer. It is all about sun, fireworks, BBQ's, swimming, family, parties, friends, ice cream, late (warm) nights, the smell of grass, energy, hot dogs, sun glasses, warm wind, watermelon, sailing, cheesecake, color, Ray Charles, burgers, parks, caramel popcorn, walks, PLAY!

But anyway, back to the 4th. I love the 4th because it puts pretty much all of those activities into one day (or into one weekend depending on which day it falls on). Also, I love the 4th because it's somebody's birthday!

Yeah, my Dad is a sailor!

It's my Dad's birthday! And my Dad is awesome (see above picture). So that is just one reason why the 4th of July is also awesome.

It's also the great USA's birthday as well. And I really do love this country. Red, white and blue looks good on me!

I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm freeeee...

So this particular 4th of July I got to spend in Utah with my brother, Robert, and his wife, Megan, and my sister Amber and her family.

I was driving down on Saturday because Robert's awesome company Qualtrics was sponsoring Stadium of Fire this year and he got tickets for myself and Amber. David Archuleta and Brad Paisley were the stars this year and I was stoked.

Side note: the theme song from Stadium of fire is the lamest theme song I have ever heard, and I can't stop singing it.

Well, on Friday that awesome brother of mine called me to tell me that because he was the top seller for the quarter in the whole company he gets to go backstage and he was taking Megan and me with him! WAHAHAHAHAAA

At this particular moment I happened to be walking on campus, heading home after class, and there were plenty people surrounding me. That being said, it did not stop me from skipping and making loud exclamations of joy all the way home. Sure people looked at me like I was crazy, I have three words for them. Brad. Freaking. Paisley.

So Saturday I got in to Amber's, got spruced up and put on my black eyeliner, which I will have you know, I only pull out for special occasions when I want to make a little more of an impact. Yeah, this was a big deal.

Amber and I before the concert

We met up with Robert and Megan and some good friends of theirs and went to the pre-party where we enjoyed free J-Dawgs, chips, salad, watermelon, pop, and a Klondike bar to wrap it all up. That was a good time.
 
I was a little anxious by that time, because I was soon going to meet Brad. (We are on a first name basis now). We headed off to the stadium, and two wrist bands later (one for the private box that we got to partake of with some other Qualtrics peeps, one for Brad) and after standing in a very long line next to our buddy, the governor of Utah,  which is a whole other story, I got to meet Brad Paisley, shake his hand, take a picture with him, and make all of my 4th of July dreams come true.

He totally has his arm around me.

To say the least it was a magical night filled with many magical moments. The concert was great. A dude got taken out by a fence because a skydiver hit it with his flag... I got it on video.

You have to be patient through the first little bit, and then you can see the guy get taken out in the lower right hand corner. My favorite part is that pretty much every service man runs for the flag and not one of them pays attention to the guy on the ground.

DAVID!

BRAD!

The fireworks were pretty good as well. My favorite fireworks were the ones that misfired a little and almost took out a whole slew of people in the stands that were watching dangerously close to where the fireworks were being shot off from behind the stage, (STADIUM ON FIRE!) and also the very last ones that made you feel like you just got blown up. Talk about adrenaline rush. It was the perfect 4th of July celebration, only to be followed by more awesome celebration.

Robert in the box wearing Megan's hat. Legit.

However, I will say that after having VIP treatment, like a nicer bathroom that a limited amount of people could use, meeting the performing artist before the concert, having dinner provided before the concert, as well as treats and an air conditioned room during the concert, I think I have been ruined. I want all my future concerts to be that way. This could be a problem for sure.

wristbands = happiness

On the actual 4th (Stadium of fire was on the 2nd) Robert, Megan, and I went to see X-Men First Class. I like that movie, and not just because it has one of my favorite actors in it....

James McAvoy - mmmhmm

But moving on, we closed out the 4th with a delicious dinner from Amber and some of the best col-de-sac fireworks display I have ever seen, complete with invading parachute army men. Basically it was one of the best 4th of July celebrations I have ever had. I can't wait until next year.