Hooray for America!

We spent part of our Fourth of July in Rigby. We had a picnic in the park complete with an army tank to climb--you know, the bombs bursting in air? Very authentic and appropriate activity.

Next we learned what it feels like to NOT have our independence. We made each of our girls spend an hour in the dog kennel so they would appreciate what our forefathers fought for.

Everyone had a good hug from Aunt Chari--she's the best aunt! (Okay, to be fair, I'll say ONE of the best. There are a lot of really great ones in our family!)

We ate delicious snow cones at the park in Menan while we waited for the parade to start . . . my snow cone is actually pina colada flavor, not snow flavor. But it is white.

The best part of the Menan parade is the chocolate milk handed out at the end. Really, it beats all the floats hands down. Not that I mind a small town short parade at all--in fact I prefer short parades to long ones. But still, the milk takes the cake. As long as you like milk. Which I don't.

Another snow cone photo. They let you put on your own snow cone syrup. Does that sound like a dream come true to any of you other kids out there? As much as you like! All the flavors if you want! Yeah, I went with just pina colada, but I am pretty sure my girls went with all of them.

If your rides home from trips are as bad as ours usually are, you might want to try borrowing a dog. We were puppy-sitting our "cousin" Koa the week after the 4th, so he got to come home with us. It was the most fun 2 hour car ride we've ever had!

We finished off the day down by the river playing on the toys as we waited for Burley's fireworks to begin. Funny thing, in my 30 years of life in Burley (minus a few for college), this is the FIRST time I ever remember actually going to the river for the fireworks. We watched them a lot, but never very close. It was fun. Late, but fun.

Anna enjoyed the popcorn. She likes popcorn so much that when we were at the movies last week, she kept eyeing the bag of popcorn the girl next to us was eating and I was worried she'd make herself at home and "borrow" some.

These are the foamerators we did in Rigby. It was actually the middle of the day, not the end. But they were a huge hit with all the kids! If you've never made these, you should. It's just a plastic bottle (gatorade ones work well because they aren't flimsy) with the bottom cut off and a wet washcloth around the bottom. Dip the cloth in some soapy water and blow! Hours of fun. Try it.

Happy Fourth.