4th of July Bash

It does not get any better than a 4th of July in Lewiston.  It was so fun to share the holiday with my children the way I spent every 4th growing up as a kid.  First stop is the parade in front of Grandma's (now Uncle Robert's) home:

My Uncle Gordon is the unofficial MC of the Lewiston parade.  You want to stand near by because he usually draws the candy from the floats!  But also the water from the fire trucks.  

Then it is off to the carnival across the street.  I'm pretty sure they haven't switched out the performers in a decade or two.

I could not stop laughing at Bennett on this ride.  His arms were caught under the bar, so when the operator would tell them to put their arms up or touch their toes, he would just stretch his fingers as far as they could go.  He loved it.

You want to know why this was the best day ever?  Whenever there's a holiday or I'm visiting a new city or whatever, I always have this feeling like someone, somewhere is doing something more fun.  And if I only knew, I'd totally be there!

Enter Grandpa Gordon's Hide-a-Way (or something along those lines).  Gordon has always found ways over the years to make the day fun, but he's gone and outdone himself.  He purchased some land a few miles from his home and turned it into the best, no-holding-back, fun-for-everyone gathering place.  Everywhere I looked, people were having such a blast.  The country water slide (with extra soap to make it extra fast), rope swings, grub shack, 4-wheelers/motorcycles and race tracks, segways, zip lines, and the pond to jump/swim/canoe.   I don't think there was anything going on in Cache Valley to top this day, it was the best.  And it's not an exclusive thing!  If you and I are ever there on the same 4th, come along!!!

(Cute Jana and her pink rifle.)

I wasn't planning on staying long, but Bennett was so happy, I couldn't pull him away for a nap.

Abbey preparing for her part in the relay race.  She was pretty serious about it.

You can pretty much count on a Barlow grandkid sporting the blond hair/blue eyes, but holy moly!  Justin and Jana's youngest had me mesmerized with those peepers.

Jana reading the results of the relay race--Skyler looks to have an objection :)

I loved this picture of Abbey and J then happened to notice what was going on behind them:

Little boys and sling shots.  What could go wrong?  Then I literally turned around and saw this:

Little boys and gallons of gas.  What could go wrong?

I loved catching up with my family.  I was on about my fifth or sixth week of being so sick with my pregnancy, so it was nice to have this day to distract and enjoy.  It's putting me in a good mood just to look back over these pictures!