4th of July

Definately one of my FAVORITE holidays!  It is always warm, and Blanding has the BEST celebrations!  I open up the paper to a full page of activities, and as I read down through them, I realized that there is something for EVERYONE in Blanding on the 4th.  It must be pretty good because people come from ALL over to celebrate with us.  I'm not even exagerating when I say, I believe the population of Blanding doubles over on the 4th of July!

One of my favorite traditions is that the girls in my family get together and paint our nails red, white and blue.  I was super excited this year because now I have a daughter that can get in on the fun too!  I didn't know how she would be; I have never tried to paint her nails, it is hard enough to get them clipped, but we tried.  Lucy and her cousin Aspen were SO good!  They thought they were so big, and sat pretty still the whole time.  We used a hair dryer to speed up the drying process, and they turned out great!

Yeah, we're big!

Lucy had blue finger nails and red toe nails, and Aspen's were just the opposite

Super cute!

For the first time in YEARS, I didn't have to worry about anything for the parade - wierd, but nice.  So, I tried to get some pictures of my kids before the parade - nice try!  I made the mistake of giving them popsicles first, and that is all they were worried about.  Lucy's dog Boda, however, was really wanting to get in on the pictures - so this is what we ended up with:

We love popsicles!

Happy 4th of July!

 We usually watch the parade in front of the office building that Kenny's parents own.  It's nice because there is lots of shade!  Now Stetson is pretty sure THAT is where you go to watch a parade, and he wants to go there EVERY day!

Lucy and daddy, just waiting for the parade to start

Stetson with his candy bag by one of his favorite cousins, Trace

 I think Stetson and his cousins had more fun throwing water balloons than catching candy, in fact he ended up with a total of 6 pieces, and he didn't mind at all (neither did I!)  It was funny though, most of the balloons Stetson threw didn't even pop, they just bounced across the road.

Watch out!

 And then they got what was coming to them!  A big water truck came by at the end of the parade and sprayed EVERYONE!  It felt SOOO good!

Stetson LOVED this!

 The weekend before the 4th, the Will and Hattie Guymon family had a reunion.  Will and Hattie are my great-great-great grandparents; their daughter Hazel was my grandma Afton's mom.  Yeah, anyway, it was a lot of fun, and there were a lot of people there that I had no idea I was "related" to.  We had a breakfast and a dinner, along with a program and a trip to the old cabin.  Check out their posterity - pretty amazing!

This was the float they had in the parade

 After a yummy lunch at my parents' house, I had the opportunity to perform with three amazing girls at the annual Celebrate America program.  We did a combination of dances we learned a clog camp a couple weeks ago.  How convenient that the clog camp shirts were red - they made a great costume!  It was tons of fun, and Kenny was even there to watch!  Thanks ladies - you did an amazing job!

McKady - Amber - Brielle - Jeanna

Just doin' what I love!

 After the program I dropped Kenny off at the hay field to cut hay, and the kids and I went back to my parents' house for root beer floats (I think we got the best end of that deal!)  As we were finishing up our floats, McKady decided to start a water fight by dumping a cup of water on our cousin Jenna's head.  At first I thought she was going to get super mad - but she just got even!

McKady spraying Jenna from the back

 Jade got in on the fun by turning McKady's hose off, so she was at a disadvantage.  He was standing on the patio, thinking he was so cool, when Jens came up behind him and dumped a 5 gallon jug of water over his head. 

Watch out! Jade has the hose!

 Of course Jens didn't stay dry for long after that!  At one point he had both hoses, so for coming in last, it seemed that he ended up on top - but how do you know with a water fight?  Once you are sopping wet, what is a little more water?  I guess Jens got tired of getting wet though, because he retreated to the roof. 

 The kids thought it was super funny - until they got sprayed too!

So funny!



Not so funny!



 Now that was QUALITY entertainment!!!  Thanks guys, it was fun!

Another tradition I enjoy is having a picnic dinner at the park while we wait for the fireworks, we listen to the band, and the kids run around enjoying their freedom.  We had a special treat this year because my niece Brielle sang the national anthem when they posted the colors.  It was beautiful!

Some of the fam, just enjoying the warm evening

And apparently there were bad guys there - and this is what happens when the bad guys get you!

Check out that awesome big brother "helping out" with his baby sister

The "big" girls, sitting in their "big" chairs

We ended up going over to Francoms to watch the fireworks, which was great because Derek had a firework show for us there too!  Stetson even got to help light a few.  Lucy didn't like the loud ones, but she seemed to enjoy the quiet pretty ones that were far away, and they lulled her right to sleep.  Stetson stayed awake for the whole show, but was asleep by the time we got home.

All in all it was a super fun day!  Happy Birthday America!