July 4. The day we had all been waiting for. The reason for this whole trip. July 4. A fabulous holiday spent with fabulous people doing amazing things. Best of all is the reason we celebrate the 4 of July. Our freedom. Our freedom to live in a country free of persecution. To live in a country where we can worship as we please. To live in a country where my children can safely play on the streets. I love this country and I love my God who gave this wonderful blessing to us. God bless America!!
July 4 in Blanding is no small event and spending it with the Hurst side of the family is no small event either. And it is SO FUN!!
The morning starts about 5 am when all interested parties meet up and load a cannon onto a flat bed truck and drive around town shooting off a cannon. It is a tradition that has been going on for years. Scott’s grandfather restored the old cannon and they really do put gun powder into it and shoot it. They don’t shoot cannons obviously, but they do have fun saying good morning to the town.
After a yummy breakfast we headed to the parade site.
Every year Blanding has a 4th of July parade down the middle of town. Scott’s family breaks out the animal train that his grandfather built many years ago. Now the great-grand kids get to ride in it.
Maranda bought the boys matching shirts. They looked awesome!
Yep, even I rode on one. But only for part of the parade. I had to jump off at one point to help the train stay on track. Then I couldn’t figure out how to get back on while it was moving. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!
Some of Scott’s cousins built a candy cannon. They were shooting candy out to the crowd. It was very cool.
My patriotic kiddos. Love the girls’ hair?? Scotts Auntie Angela and her daughters did that for them. They are so good with my girls and my girls love them so much.
After the parade and some lunch we headed back up to the cabin.
Grandma and Milo going for a ride. This kid was so good on the 4 wheelers and motorcycles, for a city boy anyway!! :o)
Not sure what that face was all about but it sure is cute!
Afton loved wearing those necklaces. She felt so pretty all day.
This tire swing is very fun. The little kids get on there and you push them out over the slope so they feel as though they are super high even though you only have to gently push them. My kids can ride for a long time. I’m grateful for cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents who are willing to stand there and push!
Aunt Shauna and I took some of the little ones on a “hike”. They had so much fun and we found this shelter that someone had made using long sticks. The kids thought it was pretty cool.
Right about the entrance to the Hurst cabin they hung a HUGE sign that says Pinehurst Gang. Then each child has a big tree painted on it, then each grand child and great-grand child has a little tree. Uncle Joe was letting the kids help him paint on the trees for the newest great-grand children.
This amazing boy learned how to ride a motorcycle all by himself. He got really good and I was glad I was not the one to teach him!!
We went on a hike. A real one up the mountain to a waterfall. Afton and Niah wanted to go. They stayed up really well and did a fabulous job. Afton wanted me to take tons of pictures of her. It was cute.
You get to make REALLY big wishes with one of these!!
Such good girls. They are super hikers. They even got some scratches and still just pressed on. This particular trail was not the typical one we’d see here in California. This was walking through brush and trees looking for the next trail marker to make sure you were going the right way. We climbed over big rocks and over big tree trunks that had fallen. It was a real hike and it was fun!
The rest of the hikers.
Alix actually got pretty close to this deer. She really wanted to touch him or hand feed him, but never got to.
After many hours of fun and some super yummy cabin burgers and dutch oven potatoes, we cleaned up the cabin for the last time this trip and headed back to Blanding.
We got there just in time to gather what we needed for watching the fire works show. It took longer to start than we thought it would. But thanks to Uncle Phillip and Auntie Jenny we had some sparklers to keep the little kids busy.
The fireworks show was actually fairly long and it was a good show. Afton and Keri had fallen asleep in the van. Keri work up and watched part of the show, but Afton slept through the whole thing. O’well. I guess there is next year!
As soon as the show was over we headed back to Kate’s and crashed. It was a welcome relief to get some sleep.
Jaime, Megan and Alix decided to sleep out on the trampoline. I think they had a good time. They were tired the next morning though!! :o)
LOVE IT!