Trivia Question...

What's My Favorite Holiday?

Answer at the bottom...



On July 3rd, we started our Independence Day festivities at Rigby Lake. They held some sort of Freedom Festival that had vendors, live bands, even the Idaho Falls' Fire Department Bagpiping Boys came!

These Ol' Boys were there, willing to chat, shake hands and share stories.
We LOVE our Veterans.


I did a LOT of Photoshopping to this baby, but I wanted it to look timeless, classic, OLD.
I sort of love OLD things.
And Old Men... not the krumudgen-type, the sweet Grandpa type.

And what's a festival without FUNNEL CAKES...
even if they ARE mostly devoured ones


Ava taking in the live band.
They played 38 Special.
"Hold On Loosely"
Oh I LOVE that song.
And many other great 80's ditty's for that matter

Then NEXT MORNING we went to the lil' ol' Rexburg Parade with our neighbors and friends, the Kirato's. They're Andrew's parents-- you remember Andrew, Ava's boyfriend!

We had FUN

Especially when we saw this "beauty queen", er, um...

Prime spot for Parading

Ava waved to everyone from the local irrigation company float to anyone who owns a riding lawn mower...
seems like they just let anybody in these things!


This is Juliet.
She's our new friend we met at the Parade.
She sat with us and shared her hard-earned candy with Ava and Andrew.
Juliet is incredibly sweet and wanted to give us her cell phone number.
We told her we don't even own a cell phone.
But we decided to meet right at that same spot for next year's parade.
See you in a year, Dear Juliet!

Sweet Andrew, wish you could see his dance moves... he was definitely shaking his groove thang.
Ava dances like me... pump legs up and down, a spastic twitch of the booty, and finish strong with a sassy split-jump that's really only about 2 centimeters off the ground.
That's my girl.

After the parade we meandered through the park and what's a trip to the park without hitting up...

the HORSIIIES


That EVENING (after the whole family crashed for a 3 hour long nap... love naptime) we were invited to a friend's home in Idaho Falls. So GLAD Dylan invited us, he's got a terrific family and a beautiful home (full of photo opportunities... I was in heaven)


Ava and Dylan
a whole day of playing with Dylan, Ava was in Paradise!


And Dylan's sweet sisters were all so much fun to play with too... Ava was drunk with attention
I think Shallon was teaching Ava "L-7 Wienieee", can't learn that too soon, I say.


There was some of THIS at Dylan's house...



And THIS...


This too...

(badmitton, of course)


Isn't this picture-esque?

I walked around the corner to find THIS happening...

Lick of watermelon for YOU (the dog)...
Lick of watermelon for ME (the child)...
Lick for YOU...
Lick for ME...

You get it.
I gagged a little... but not until I snapped a picture.
THEN I gagged.


Such deliriously, amazingly, delicious food... and for some CRAZY reason, I didn't take any pictures but this!
Must have been too busy stuffing my face.
How's that for a mental image.




I'm telling you, Dylan's home is CHOCK FULL of great (wonderfully vintage) things to take pictures of- next time I go back (and trust me, we WILL be going back :) ) I'll be sure to venture out and do more clicking and clacking.


But I couldn't resist when I saw the HORSES.
These beaut's were screaming for me to take pictures of them (or Naying it... I know, I'm not funny)





Horses in LURVE.


Funny how Miz Lou can be Deathly afraid of small Shnauzers or Beagles but freakishly humongous beasts of burden? Nahhh... she likes to stick her hand up their nostrils.


I wish I took more pictures of the company (and the food, for that matter!) but we got talking so much that I just managed to slip in a couple.
The company was wonderful, I LOVE meeting new people... LOVE. IT.
(so does Ava... wonder where she gets it from?)


Only two of three Landeen sisters (Dylan's fam)
These girls are dang awesome, so darling sweet and very talented-- Ava ate them up. Alive.

Now, you know how people flippantly say, "It's such a SMALL WORLD, yadda, yadda, yadda".

WELL, my world just got SMALLER and here's my "Yadda, Yadda, Yadda" about that.

THIS Hot Mama is Dyllan's awesome Mom, Jennifer...

I know, she's super cute AND a mother of SIX (yes, SIX)
I'm blown away too!

Anyway, back to my Yadda, Yadda...
We got talking and it came up that I'm from Rock Springs and she's all, "REALLY? We lived there too!"
And if you're from Wyoming, it's a RULE that you automatically become Best Friends Forever with anyone else you come in contact with who might have lived there (no matter how short or long their stay). It's a Rule. I don't make 'em, I just follow.
Ok, I digress.
So, we get chatting up about where she lived...
BURR Street (I totally know where that is)
Her old Bishop (again, I totally know who he is too!!)
There were MORE and MORE people we both knew in common and the list was growing and growing...
She knew like ALL of my best friend's parents (the Higgin's, the Huntsman's, etc)
Jennifer Landeen even knew EXACTLY who MY parents are!!
and I quote: "Your dad was a foot doctor and your mom has red hair and sort of quiet?"
YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!
And further BLOWING MY MIND, she remembered exactly WHAT pews we sat in during church since we were in the same WARD and she remembers when my little bro and I were ADOPTED!!!!
I KNOW, it was INSANELY fun to play the "do you know" game and actually win for once!

So bottom line: This was Quite a day, Quite a day!!

After our terrific day we drove home just in time to catch the Rexburg fireworks.
I wanted to test out my camera on the fireworks, but decided that I would rather spend the last of this perfect day in a cozy, cuddly Ava sandwich with The Hubs.

What a glorious day.





Answer to the Trivia Question:
Fourth of July.
THAT is my favorite holiday.