4th of July -- Round 4

We had our fourth and final (at least so far) round of visitors come for the 4th of July. Eric's sister from Washington and his sister from Utah and their families came to stay with us for a few days. We did so many fun things: parade watching, fireworks in the front yard, trip to the Splash Park, watching the city fireworks in Idaho Falls, and having a Harry Potter Party. Of course I don't have many pictures (but when my one sister-in-law finds her lost memory stick and when my other sister-in-law has time to upload her hundreds of pictures -- I'll have more to share). But for now I have enough to tell the story -- and that's what matters.

 Splash Pad (or "Splash Plad" as Sadie calls it)

Renae loves the squirty jets

Colby loves the water slide

Mason loved the time spent with his cousins

(he so rarely has boy cousins his age around!)

 Sadie & her cousin Abby LOVE sitting on top of the water jets! Too funny.

Aunt Amy brought water squirters for all the kids. So much fun.

We were smart (for once) and brought our pop-up shade thingy.

It was nice to kick back and relax with family while we watched the kids play.

Front yard FIREWORKS

We did fireworks in the front yard one night. All the kids were mesmerized. 

The neighbors even joined us & added some extra exciting fireworks

(probably not legal) to the show.

Rexburg Parade

Our gang staked out on our piece of sidewalk.  

The four flag-waving Patriotic Girls -- so cute!

The rest of my kids & their cousins were in the Parade.

Yep, they were riding on this old fire truck.

(Look closely and you can see Renae in white, Mason & Colby in navy.)

Our neighbor owns these old tractors & firetrucks and offered to let our kids ride in the parade.

They jumped at the chance -- how often does an opportunity like that come along?

They had fun but missed out on seeing the rest of the parade and chasing after all the candy.

Idaho Falls Fireworks

Later that same day we headed down to Idaho Falls (about a half hour away)

to watch the "Amazing, Impressive, Awesome....etc, etc Firework Show" put on in Idaho Falls.

They shoot the fireworks off from an island in the middle of the river, crowds line the river banks.

The show is set to music & is reported to be the best firework show this side of the Mississippi.

But to get a good view (and to avoid walking blocks and blocks) you have to get there early.

We got their at about 5:30. The fireworks didn't start until 10:15 or so.

So how do you do to entertain 6 adults and 11 children for 5 hours? It was tough.

We ate ice cream cups. Yummy!

Colby just shoveled them in as fast as he could.

I read a book....of course.

We played games, blew bubbles and ate some more.

The fireworks were good. Very good. The kids loved it.

But was it worth the 5 hour wait and the 2 1/2 hours stuck in traffic on the way home?????

I don't think so.

Harry Potter Party

Tuesday we had a Harry Potter Party -- complete with Sorting Hat, wands, spell books,

duels, potions class, divination, a trip to HogsHead & more --

thrown by Eric's amazingly talented and creative sister Erin. 

I didn't pull out my camera for this...I was in charge of the Hufflepuff House (4 little girls)

and didn't have time for much else.

It was hilarious and amazing. Pictures will be forthcoming.

We had a lovely long weekend and were sad to see our guests go.

Hooray for Fireworks, Family and Friends!