One of the many things we love about living in Apple Valley is their Freedom Days celebration, culminating on the 4th of July with an awesome parade that's literally 2 blocks from our house. We always take the kids to the carnival though we usually eschew most of the rides in favor of the pony rides, petting zoo, kids' dance party, and other fun things to do. We did let the kids do a couple rides this year, and of course, made the most of the parade sitting at our usual spot. Competition is fierce for good spots along the parade route; the city last year issued an ordinance that no spots can be saved more than 24 hours in advance of the 1 pm parade start time, so we always run down there at 1:00 the day before the parade with our tarp to mark our position just off the corner of 145th St. and Guthrie Ave. The morning of the parade, we head down again with our 10x10 canopy (2 canopies this year!) and get that set up so we have a shady place to sit. Then, just before 1:00 we get decked out in our finest red, white, and blue apparel and haul our chairs, cooler filled with cold beverages, and buckets for collecting candy and wait for the parade. It always starts with military planes flying overhead in a missing man formation, which is awesome to see. The kids end up with more candy than they can possibly eat, and after the parade we hike back home for some yummy food. This year we stayed up late and for the first time, took the kids down to the park where Apple Valley shoots off fireworks. We had a great view and despite the heavy traffic getting back home, the kids loved to watch the fireworks out in the park. I can't think of a better way to celebrate our Independence Day!
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