Fourth of July

We went to Idaho this year for the fourth of July.  Will has always told me about how glorious the fourth of July is in Idaho and we finally made the trek this year. I had to work on Tuesday so we had to leave at about 7 getting us into Idaho Falls at around 4 in the morning.  It was a long trip. We some how woke up bright and early and made it to the parade.



  Addi loved it.  She waved and clapped and cheered and squealed and when that got boring she played in the dirt.

Once again I as my emotional self. I teared up a lot. I love patriotism. And flags and seeing the old veterans and the other people that serve in the armed forces. 

After the parade we attempted to take a nap.  This consisted of Addison running around the hotel room and me and Will going in and out of sleep while trying to make sure she was not doing anything to extremely dangerous.

Next up was the fireworks.  While we waited for the big ones Will’s family set off some small ones in the parking lot. Addi thought that they were amazing.  She would gasp and point and jump up and down while yelling “works!!!”

Will’s niece had a large amount of glow sticks and they all had a contest to make the coolest thing.  Will made a giant ball which Addison thought was pretty sweet.

The big fire work show was pretty amazing.  I have only ever been to small town fireworks and was super impressed with these ones.  The whole thing lasted about 40 minutes and was excellent.

It seems like we can never go to Idaho and stay in one place.  We always have to drive all over the place.  Our next night stay was in Victor to see Will’s Grandma.  She is a snow bird and lives here in St George during the winter months.  Addi and her get a long really well so they were excited to see each other.  She spent the day and a half playing with toys, cousins, seeing horses and getting lots of cookies.

Will had his ten year class reunion so me and Will headed to Idaho Falls Friday night.  I was a little bitter because they made us pay $60 for some cheesecake, cold sandwiches and little cold squares of pizza. After the “dinner” we were starving and went to get some food with some of Will’s friends.  It was fun getting to know the people he went to high school with and listening to some hilarious stories. Especially the stories about the girls he tried to date.  We had to drive all the way back to Victor that night and did not get back until 4 a.m.  I am unsure how Will stayed awake.
The next day we headed to back to Idaho Falls for a family picnic with Will’s class. It was just lovely.  Will’s friend has some land in up in the mountain and we had a nice picnic and let all the children run around.  Of course Addi found the dirt and was a mess instantly.  Next she found the sprinklers and became muddy.

After the picnic we headed to Rexburg to the demolition derby.  Addi loved it for the first hour. She would make car noises and scream and clap.  I decided that I love demolition derbies. I wished they had them here.

The last picture is of my little cousin Mason.  They had a money run where the kids run out in the mud and gather money.  Mason (in the orange) was determined to find some money and was one of the last kids wandering around the arena!
After a while Addi was sick of it all.  My aunt and uncle took her home with the rest of the kids and let me and Will watch the rest of it alone. 
I love my aunt and uncle and hate that I never see them.  Katie and I had a great night eating cake, chatting and playing with make up.  They should live closer to us.  Addi enjoyed playing with Mason, Aden and Jade too.
The next day we headed to Will’s brothers house to say a quick hello. They have lots of animals.  Horses, dogs and tons of kitties. Trevor helped Addi sit on the horse for a little bit.  She was nervous and did not last too long.

And then she discovered the kittens.  Those poor creatures.  Addi felt that the kittens needed to be held by somebody all the time.  If one jumped down and was playing in the grass she picked up/strangled the kitty and gave it to a person.  Towards the end they hid from her. I think she needs a kitten.

Next stop was Pocatello to have lunch with Will’s Mom, her husband and his sister’s family.  we had a good time visiting with them and then finally we headed home.  It was my birthday that day so I got to declare all of our stops and where we ate.  I enjoy power. During all of our driving we listened to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  It was surprisingly good and we loved it.  Audio books are the only way we can survive these drives.  We are always looking for suggestions!