This post has a million pictures, but just scan through as fast as you want and stop on the ones you feel like. Those who miss Ashland on the 4th will appreciate the pictures, so I've included lots.
A few of you have expressed regret that I didn't post a picture of the Nudie Cutie. She was too fast to catch, and our arms were hanging down with our jaws when she passed, but I did find a picture of her on the internet, so here you go.
I did actually find out that she wears pasties that look like nipples (I saw her hold them up on YouTube), so maybe what we saw wasn't actually her own stuff.
After the parade we traditionally go sit on the lawn in the park up by the tree grove and Japanese Garden and listen to the bands play while we picnic. Shira and I took off to reserve a spot for the family, and Hyrum went to Safeway to pick up picnic food.
We stopped at the fountain so the kids could play in the water now that the bubbles are gone. This is the same fountain that was filled with bubbles at Kaylynn's graduation.
Though Hyrum's got pretty full lips, he still can't make his pout as good as Shira's.
Cotton candy is always a huge hit.
I think it's Talea's favorite junk food on earth. She doesn't pronounce it cot'n candy like we all do, she gives it the respect she thinks it deserves by carefully pronouncing it Cotton Candy (said with strong Ts).
Hyrum's getting in some play time with the kids.
This is my whole world right here in this picture.
You can't imagine how often Hyrum walks around with these little barnacles attached to his legs.
A water fight broke out between Hyrum and the kids...
...and when Hyatt couldn't retaliate properly with water, pine cones became his ammunition
"Oh, you think so!?"
And this is why Talea lives in jeans. I can't keep her clean!!! She ruins all her nice clothes immediately.
Kiersa enjoyed her first Ashland 4th of July...
...and tolerated the outpouring of love that her brother CONSTANTLY gives her.
Mom and Dad
Talea wanted to show me the beautiful garden (the Japanese Garden), so I took her and Hyatt there to snap some cute pictures.
After the traditional post-parade picnic, we went to the church for a ward dinner and chatted with some old friends. The kids discovered the horseshoe pits and it turned into a couples match, Hyrum and I against Weston and his female friend. We kicked their cans, of course.
At the dinner, there was one of Hyrum's favorite dishes that Susan used to make for him all the time. Ensilada, I believe. This one's for you, Suzy.
Hyrum never told me he liked the stuff, but it wouldn't have helped because I've never had it before. And you think you know a guy! Man!
Later that evening, we went to Walker School's lawn, played on the phenomenal playground there (I've never seen such an amazing playground, at any other school or park!), and watched the fireworks. I wish I'd gotten pictures of the fireworks because Ashland has the best display ever. I've seen the Stadium of Fire in Provo, and that's not even as good as what Ashland puts out. It's my favorite part of the 4th. This year, they faked us out with a false finale in the middle, and then they ended the fireworks without a real finale! Well, for 30 seconds or so. It was long enough that everyone was sitting there stunned saying "What? That's it? What in the world were they thinking?!" Then, when we were about to stand up and slump off to our cars with disgruntled hearts, the biggest explosion of fireworks began and it was a finale well worth waiting for. The pause made it all the more exciting. We loved it!!! Afterward is Ashland's one and only yearly traffic jam that lasts for about 10 minutes. Have I ever mentioned I hate traffic? I love living in an area of the country where traffic jams mean you have to go the speed limit or a couple times a year you might not get through a stoplight on the first green.
2 comments:
Loved the pics of the kids too cute!
Your kids are so cute! Is another on the way? From your comment on my page it sounded like there's a bun in the oven!
To answer your questions about being able to travel; We used a bunch of our savings to travel around the world. We read The 4-Hour Work Week and were inspired when we found out we could live cheaper or the same in a foreign country. You can do it even cheaper if you volunteer and get more than a tourist experience. But we knew we would end up at business school in the fall and so we still had a plan. It's fun, but rough on the body. It's been such a great experience, but I'm REALLY looking forward to moving into our student housing soon. SOmeday when we have kids and they're old enough, we'd like to have a tradition of family 3rd-world volunteer trips instead of Christmas presents. We'll see!
Love ya!
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