A Journey of 2,919 Miles Give or Take, Leg 2--The Grandkids

How I love these kids. I love nothing better than reading to them and tucking them into bed and listening to them giggle together as they try to settle down to sleep.

Heidi loves the Fourth of July in Rexburg better than anywhere in the world, so we all headed to her house to celebrate--including Tucker and Karli and Annie.

Started the day with a quick swing competition--I think Eve edged Tucker out for the highest.

What is it about July 4th that makes whole families wear matching patriotic tshirts?

We participated in the inaugural one-mile fun run before the parade began. Tucker stayed with Hyrum and Micah paced Sam. The rest of us petered out where our spots were being saved along the parade route.

That boy! 

The entire route was jammed with adults on lawn chairs and blankets and kids armed with bags for all of the candy they knew they were going to catch.

Matching shirt and . . .

. . . matching toes!

Can you see the huge scrape on his forehead? A teenage boy, lost in his desire to catch ice cream bars being thrown from a parade float, plowed right over the top of Nathan and laid him flat out on the asphalt. Poor guy! At least he got more candy after that.

They even threw popsicles. This girl takes after her daddy.

Only a year old, and that girl can drain every drop out of an otter pop.

After 90 minutes of candy and casualties, the parade ended at the park, and the kids changed into swimsuits to enjoy the splash pad.

Annie was in heaven--kids and water, her two favorite things.

Nathan was a little worried about the water slide.

But it all ended in a great splash.

Hyrum was right behind him.

Jonah had initially been asleep in the stroller, but he got too hot and was happy to cool off in the fountains.

Annie didn't stop, even after her lips turned blue and her teeth were chattering. That one's an AZ baby for sure!

Ellie didn't love getting wet, but she played with her daddy and dipped her toes in a few times.

I love Hyrum in this photo--no fear.

Such good buddies.

Guess who never let her far out of their reach? Both her mama and daddy--in this photo.

Sam and Tucker took my boys to a water park that afternoon while the mommies rested with the little ones. We knew we were going to be up late that night for fireworks. Sam tried to find his perfect spot for viewing the legendary Melaleuca-sponsored fireworks in Idaho Falls, but after driving around for a while, he couldn't find it. We settled on this spot that looked good enough--it also had plenty of space for the kids to run--and play "Red Light, Green Light."

Evie and Ellie wanted a turn, but they weren't the best leaders.

As it got dark, we began wondering why no one was really by us. When the firework started, we realized that this parking lot light and two huge trees were in our line of sight. But it was good enough for us.

These two took advantage of distracted parents by digging in with both fists into the licorice. Who cares? It was the Fourth of July!

And I agree with Heidi--there is nowhere better to celebrate America than in a rural American town.