4th of July Weekend

Let me just start off by saying that I monumentally failed at taking lots of pictures this weekend as I had originally planned. For several various reasons, I just didn't get around to it. So here is what little I have; hope you enjoy them!


This past weekend I went with Tom to his family reunion up in the Valley. We camped out near Darby Canyon where his grandparents live. On the way up, we stopped to see my dad and wish him a happy birthday. We chatted and looked at old pictures of the family and even had a little ping-pong tournament over at my grandparent's place.


On Saturday morning, we watched the good old parade in Victor. I hadn't been to it in four years! I'll admit it was more exciting when I was younger, and I was usually in the parade dancing so I never really watched it. Ever since they stopped giving away free chocolate milk, it just hasn't been the same . . . that was my favorite part! Although it wasn't the most exciting thing, it was still fun to go just for old times' sake. Plus, there was a float for a local dental office which was throwing out free toothbrushes. This got me really excited because I had forgotten to pack my toothbrush and was in desperate need of one! This nice lady heard me yelling hysterically and ran up and grabbed one for me. She came back, handed it to me, and proudly declared, "And look, it's even pink!" If only she knew . . . :) so once again I am stuck with a pink toothbrush. I can't complain though, it is a pretty nice toothbrush and even has those gum-massager-things on the sides which I find quite nice.


That evening we went down to Huntsman Springs for the big firework show and speech by Glenn Beck. I couldn't believe how many people were there! I think that the population of the Valley tripled that night. It was a pretty good show and I really enjoyed it despite the fact that it was a little cold for the 4th, but that's Idaho for you. I don't really know much about Glenn Beck, but apparently he has been ruffling some feathers lately. I wasn't sure what his speech was going to be like, but I think that he did a great job. He simply spoke of our nation's history, and of people who played a key role in forming this great country that we live in. He also spoke about the virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

Sunday morning, the 4th of July, we woke up to the sounds of these birds . . . .

and hot air balloons!

These things are surprisingly noisy. It took me awhile to figure out what the noise was, but when I did, I ran out of the tent to take some pictures. I counted a total of 14 hot air balloons up in the sky!

It was such a wonderful weekend!