Independence Day in Panguitch, Utah

For the 4th of July, my kids and I hopped a ride with my parents and drove over to Panguitch to visit my Grandma Roe. (Jonathan had to work, as usual. :-( ) We hadn't been over there since Easter, so it was fun to visit again and especially to escape Cedar's "hot" weather. Panguitch summers are pure heaven.

This is Grandma Roe. The picture doesn't do her blue eyes credit.

Colby was loving the attention of all the family.

My parents spent all day Friday working on the yard over there. The even pulled out a big, bushy tree on the southwest corner of the house, so my mom asked me to put this picture on my blog for the family to see. They're going to put a bird house on top of the stump.

My Aunt Barb, Uncle Brent, and cousin, Aaron, came over Friday night to join us. Aaron is very talented on the guitar and can play by ear. Brycen was entranced by his hands.

Aaron set off some fireworks (both legal and not) in the driveway Friday night. This was Brycen's first experience with fireworks, but he didn't react much with excitement or fear, just stared. Bailey, on the other hand, hid in the back of the truck. Pansy.

Brycen woke me up bright and early Saturday morning, but then fell back asleep soon after eating. Rather than joining him, I decided to enjoy the peace and quiet by reading the Ensign and then getting ready before everyone else needed the bathroom.

Here's the best part of the day. Since Panguitch's huge parade is on the 24th for Pioneer Day, they reserve the 4th of July for a fun, simple kids parade. All the kids in town decorate their bikes red, white, and blue, and ride down Main Street and then back up to the starting point. This was my kids' first experience with this, and they were so excited. (I was able to use the decorations on their bikes as leverage for good behavior for three days leading up to this. :-) )
When the time for the parade came, the kids took off so suddenly that I was a little rushed and worried, hoping that they'd keep track of each other, but I figured they couldn't get too lost since all they had to do was stay with the crowd of bikes. Plus, my two older cousins were in it, as well. Anyway, they all went heading down Main Street, so I went over to stand by my grandma and family. Then I looked back down the street to see if they were headed back yet, and this is what I saw........
Apparently Colby thought it was a race of some sort, or at least he thought it should be, so he left everybody else in the dust (except one other little guy, about 5 years old, who seemed to think the same thing and had already passed us). So here's Colby, happily biking up Main Street, Panguitch, all by himself, while crowds of people on both sides of the road look and laugh. When the parade was over he said, "I got second place."

This is where Colby was supposed to be--with the crowd of bikes. My cousin, Mitchell, is the cute solder carrying the American flag.

Bailey was very obedient and stayed right with my cousins, like she was supposed to.

This is Brycen's patriotic outfit.

My Uncle Kevin let the kids climb up in his police truck and pretend to be cops, which Colby thought was awesome, especially when he got to set off the alarm.

Then Kevin gave them each a ride on one of his horses--in the pouring rain!

Bailey loves cats and found a litter of kittens in Kevin's shed. They tried to pawn a couple off on us, but fortunately for my allergies, where we live, no pets are allowed.

Happy 4th of July, and thank you to all the soldiers out there fighting for our country. My brother is at Fort Lewis, Washington, right now, training to be an officer in the Army. I'm proud of you, Cliff! Good luck!