Monkey Highlights Six, a.k.a. the 4th of July

The Fourth of July ended up being a strange holiday for us. Youth Conference was coming up right after the holiday, and I had gotten myself invited after some pleading and begging. (They did need some extra leaders so I think they were happy to have me come.) We needed to get our littles up to Idaho since both Tyler and I were going to be gone with the bigs. I originally thought I would take them up right after the holiday, but eventually it seemed better to take them up before the holiday and celebrate up there with Granny V.

It felt pretty roomy in the car with only three kids. One child per row...that is the way to travel.

The kids even took a picture of their awesome mom driving.

Grandma was so excited to see us. So we fisheyed her.

The Fourth of July is always a great event in Idaho. We have been there many times and my favorite part is by far 'breakfast on the boulevard.' It is close enough that we walk. We brought umbrellas for shade, but that didn't protect us from the photobomber back there.

Jami, J.R. and Henlee joined us for the festivities. Check out this delicious breakfast. Nothing beats the strawberry rhubarb syrup. I think I could drink it straight.

We stayed and watched a bit of the parade. It was a pretty typical parade. There were horses, bands, floats, and the like. I did like these topiary animals.

We relaxed for much of the afternoon. Pearl drank enough soda to chill her bones and then she needed extra time in the sun.

We crafted for a bit. We worked on making cute owl pencil holders. Here are the bodies.

And here are the wings drying for later use.

I actually took off early and was not able to finish mine, but the girls did such a cute job on their owls. Look at these wise birds. Daisy plans on bringing one to school.

Like I said, I decided to split early. I was worried about having enough time to pack and get ready for Youth Conference. I left in the early evening and was just entering the valley when fireworks started to go off. Tyler and the girls were already on top of the parking garage (where we watched the  Summerfest display). In fact, he even sent me a picture since they were scootering down the levels.

Maybe you noticed more about that picture than I did. Truthfully, I was driving and I didn't look that closely, but it turns out that picture is more than just a grown man on a small kids' toy. In fact, it is showing off some beautiful road rash Tyler picked up when his scooter didn't turn like it was supposed to. Would you like to see it a little closer?

Nifty huh? Good thing we weren't headed out to go camping in Moab in only two days. That would really be annoying.

The good news is that I arrived safely and we watched fireworks explode all over the valley. I can't believe how many there were....everywhere. I'm sure I've become a little jaded. Sometimes all I can see is money evaporating into the evening twilight. How much could we do with that money if we put it towards schools and parks? Perhaps a new sound system for the Jr. High? That would  be pocket change compared to what was ignited that evening. I still love the Fourth of July and I certainly love our country, but as a nation, we could do with some financial allocation seminars.