New Halloween Traditions...Giving Pumpkins A Bath

There's consequences to every action. This year, a consequence of us carving pumpkins four days before Halloween--especially when we've had record-breaking warm temperatures--was shriveled pumpkins.

So we decided to try something, something I'd heard worked, but never put it in action.

We tossed the jack-o-lanterns into a tub full of water.

After a few hours what I had heard would happen actually happened--the pumpkins resurrected to close to the way they looked when we butchered...ah, I mean, lovingly gutted and carved them days earlier.

We had a great night. My wife did a little Pinterest search and found some fun food presentation ideas. I love Halloween and am sad to see it go.

A Down-Home 4th...

Like most Americans, we had the day off from work. We spent it at home.

Independence Day conjures many things. Barbecues, fireworks, parades. In the past our family would do each of the three. Our community used to have a fireworks display put on by Lagoon Amusement Park. That tradition died several years ago. Too bad, even though I understand why they did it. It was a cost thing and since I don't own and/or run Lagoon, I can't really fault them.

So when Lagoon's fireworks ended, we'd load up the van and drive to a neighboring town--usually Kaysville--and enjoy their display. They put on a great show, that Kaysville City. Back when the trees weren't so high, we could see their fireworks. Not anymore--darn growing things!

Something else we did in the past was go to parades. I admit, I'm not the biggest fans of parades. It's usually too hot and too crowded.

This year, we stayed home, we didn't go to a parade, and we didn't drive to see a nice fireworks display. We did barbecue and that was delicious.

One tradition I've enjoyed the past couple of years is to get up and wait for the fighter jets to fly by. I went out at 8am this morning not remembering when they usually flew by. The cat and I enjoyed a nice morning. Turns out the jets from Hill Air Force Base came by at 9am. I videoed it--sorry for the shaky shot. When I worked in Clearfield, about five miles from the base, I loved it when we'd see the jets streak into the sky. I could watch them all day.

So, looks like this year was a little different than most, but I'm okay with that. The day isn't about having to go to a parade, or watching fireworks, or even grilling tasty meats. It's having the ability to do all those things...or none of them. Happy Independence Day everyone!