Steel Days

Well, we were just the regular A.F. city celebrators this year! We got ourselves some Williamson friends and hit the carnie. Then Kate was in her first parade for dance, and last, we saw and heard SheDaisy as the fireworks exploded above us from Annette’s backyard. We checked all the boxes!

Not pictured, but loved that Mck did devil horns on the rides…obviously a product of her father.

Cole makes new friends on the ride. He’s happy about it:

And on to the parade. Miss Sleepy Eyes…we had to wake Sissy up for her Big Day!

Waiting for the parade to start. Being 85th in the parade makes for a long morning…

And here’s Miss America (‘n Fork) herself. This was the very end of the parade when everyone was hot and tired, but there she was, still smiling and waving (with both hands, mind you). I had to laugh when I saw this!

Pioneer Children

We celebrated Pioneer Day early at This Is the Place ‘cause we’re awesome like that. Actually, Kate’s asked many times to return since visiting there last year, and we finally made it back days before Pioneer Day.

Aside from the “walked and walked and walked” part, I think Kate would dig the Pioneer lifestyle…or maybe she just likes making old fashioned crafts. Yep. Probably just the craft thing. And Cole, he loves himself some dirt and rocks and “wot”ing (walking).

Here, Kate shows off her new spinner toy, while Cole demonstrates just how much he hates to be accessorized; hats, shoes, costumes, collared-shirts, sunglasses…he hates them all. He’s not difficult. No.

 

 

After panning for gold, Kate traded her loot for candy at the bank. A fair trade. If only the bank would have traded candy for the many rocks Mr. Cole had collected while panning…

Brother recently discovered his equestrian loves. This boy hates to be told that it’s time to dismount the “hoessy.”

And here’s the goose that nipped Cole’s arm for harassing her and her gal pals:

Notice…Kate pets the pig as Cole collects rocks, or in this case, boulders:

The best part of all, Brigham’s Donut Shoppe. A nice treat for the end of our trip.

Don’t try and church it up, Son. Don’t you mean, Joe Dirt?

We’re not very outdoorsy people; in fact, quite the opposite. I have a hard time letting my kids get dirty, even though I know it’s an essential part of development.

So I’ll count it a blessing that Dave’s family has started up “Canyon Thursday” for the summer. This means we all go up A.F. Canyon each Thursday and are forced to become one with nature.

Mmmm…here’s a fun game: climb up the dirt hill and slide back down. Oh, heavens.

Cole found himself right at home once we made our way to the lake for some fishing. The only thing better than a big old lake, is a big old lake surrounded with rocks, at least in Cole’s eyes. Brother entertained himself forever by throwing rock after rock into the water, which by the way, made for horrible fishing.

Kate, Vertical Grin, and Grandpa

And the best part of the evening (but not really)…

Turns out even our kids have a limit as to how dirty they like to get. Lucky for us, we had a spare change of pants in the car. Phew!

And here’s most of the crew that made it that night, minus Brian’s family…

So in the wise words of Joe Deertay, “Life’s a Garden…dig it.” Glad to have nights like these to remind us to do just that.