The 4th of July 2015

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays.  Maybe that's because it was always a big deal while I was growing up.  Every year we headed to the hills or the canals or anywhere outdoors to celebrate and play.  And every year Mom made a ridiculously good picnic of BBQ.  Brandan and I have followed the Clayson family 4th of July tradition - minus the ridiculously good food, unless hotdogs, chips and Oreos count as ridiculously good.  Actually, yes, they do.

On the night of the 3rd, we met with some friends and what will be our neighbors in the new house for some pre-holiday fireworks.  The Dads in charge were nice/brave enough to let the kids help light some of the fireworks.

Fireworks at the Sweeps house on the 3rd

The morning of the 4th we went to the parade in Fort Bridger.  Sis had an upset tummy and was reluctant to get out of the stroller and Dash felt too old for chasing candy (who can outgrow that?!), but we ended up standing by two adorable little boys, one of which had a broken leg, and soon all the kids were gathering candy to share.  It made my heart so happy to see them slipping taffy into the bags of those two little guys.  Good way to start the day!

Tag and Sis at the start of the parade.

The lure of candy, sirens and other kids soon had all the kids at the edge of the road enjoying the strong smell of horse poo.

The last float in the parade was a fire truck that sprayed down any spectators willing to brave the water.

After the parade, we headed to the hills for a picnic, hike and a dip in the creek.

Sport, Colt and Dash playing in the creek.

Dad carrying Sis and Tag across the creek.

Sport and Colt

Tag got a free ride.

Snoozing in his do-rag.

Dash surfing the slippery rocks.

It wasn't a particularly hot day, especially in the hills, but who can resist playing in the water?

Sis playing in the creek.

Me and the boys.

I'm not exactly a picture of grace and poise while navigating the stream.  In fact, the boys were always worried about me when we crossed, saying things like - "How ya doing, Mom?" "Do you think you can make it across here?" even "You could just wait here ya know".

Not sure why Sport chose to make a mad face.  He loved the creek.  Sport is a little monkey and several times he would wander way up or down the creek and hang over the water from some fallen tree.

Sport and Colt gathered flowers for me along the way.  I stuck one in my hair and they were so impressed they took a picture.

Dad, Sissy and Tag in the water.

Tag dipping his toes in the water.

 Like a good Dad, Brandan got Tag out of his backpack to play in the water.  After a while I noticed a suspicious yellow stain spreading across Brand's shirt.  Sure enough, Tag had marked his territory. I pulled out the camera to take a picture right as Colt wandered by.  After the click of the camera, Colt quipped " Hashtag, fun on the 4th of July!" It was hilarious.

Little stink stain.
#Funonthe4thofJuly

Washing clothes like a pioneer.

On the hike home, the boys found a frog that we certainly mauled to near death before releasing back into the wild.

We decided to skip the crowds (this is a relative term) and watch the Lyman fireworks from the "roof" of our new house.  The roof is actually the main floor, but at the time it was the highest point of our house.  We snuggled in sleeping bags, watched the various fireworks, ate hotdogs and cookies, and finished the night of with an outdoor movie.

Rooftop picnic