Pioneer Day 2018

If you can get past the blazing heat, July is a pretty awesome month to live in Utah.  We get to celebrate the Fourth of July celebrations, and then a few weeks later we get a re-do on Pioneer Day.  We started off at the parade in Spanish Fork which is one of our favorite traditions.  This year our crew was much smaller than normal, but we still had a great time.  Watching the kids at a parade - especially one where they throw candy - is kinda the best.  

The fire engines were definitely loud!

  

The girls were so excited to see a real princess, they immediately ran to get a picture with her.  I think it totally made the girl's day.  She was an attendant and very happy to show off her dress and crown. 

Bless the karate woman is all I have to say.  As we headed to the parade Luke started talking about last year when he broke a board with the karate kids.  He hoped to do it again but I figured the chances were pretty slim.  When the crew came along, they seemed to just come straight over to Luke and he could not have been more excited to show off his skills.  There is nothing better than when people will take the time to make your kids happy.  

I have definitely turned into "that mom" that buys themed outfits and makes everyone match and it is the best thing ever.  Luckily my kids still think it is great and are excited by the new clothes.

For the past several years an internet company has sponsored a water fight in the park with water guns and a filling station.  After a hot parade, it is the perfect way to cool down, and of course the kids love chasing everyone down to squirt.  I tried to establish a dry zone and keep from getting too wet, but as long as I had a gun in my hand, the kids (and grandpa) were ruthless.

  

After the water fight we all headed to Jarin and Jami's for a BBQ and pool time for the kids.  My kids think that anytime with cousins is a total holiday, so they were thrilled with our afternoon plans.  

 

We had a few errands to run, and then planned to go home and put the kids to bed early.  As we drove up, we could see that two different set of neighbors were lighting fireworks.  Drake came running over to invite Luke and Ruby and they could hardly contain themselves when they asked if they could go watch fireworks with their friends.  Of course we said yes and all wandered over to watch.  The little kids ran around and played and laughed and the adults stood and talked, all with the background of fireworks.  When we finally made it home, way too late, we were all exhausted but oh so happy.  

I came home the day after Pioneer Day to find that Luke had meticulously counted and then organized all of his candy.  Oh this boy definitely has a piece of his mama in him. And Ruby?  She and Brexley had eaten most of the candy quicker than it could even be counted.

Yellowstone Day Three, July 2018

On the last morning in Yellowstone, we were all a little sad to leave.  It was such a fantastic vacation and we were not quite ready for it to end.  Before starting the drive for home, we decided to see a few more things.  The town of West Yellowstone is an interesting place that clearly revolves around bears and other wildlife.  That's great if you are like us and always looking for another photo opportunity.

While we were at the park we were on the constant lookout for wildlife and really hoped to see a bear or a wolf.  Other than the bear that Tim glimpsed swimming across the stream, these animals were a little tougher to find.  Jarin and Jami had told us about the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center and how much their kids loved it so we decided to make one last stop before heading home.  It is a non profit wildlife center where they have re-homed several bears and wolves that for various reasons can no longer life in the wild.  The kids all loved being able to watch the animals and see them so close.  Luke and Ruby were especially excited to take their own photos to remember the animals - they took their LeapPads and took tons of photos of everything.  It was pretty great to watch their excitement.

They had a great location for close up views

The wolf den was the perfect place for these two wild ones.

In addition to the bears and wolves, they had several raptors - all who had been injured and could no longer fly.  It was sad to think that they could no longer live in the wild, but we loved seeing the birds up close - a golden eagle, great horned owl, turkey vulture, falcon and three bald eagles.

Inside the center they had some really cool exhibits.

Of course the gift shop was one of the kids' favorite parts

All of the kids were surprisingly great on the trips there and back.  I had been a little worried, but I think we have officially reached the stage where road trips can be enjoyable.  I brought a lot of activities for the little ones, and they watched a few movies and played on their leap pads.  This view was one of my favorite moments - Luke and Ruby built forts over their car seats with their blankets and kept themselves entertained for a very long time.  I love listening to their imaginations at work. 

Erika was able to meet us and visit for a minute on our way home.

Always a highlight for all of us

I like to think these views haven't changed much in the past 100 years