Fourth

We spent a quiet weekend together to celebrate the 4th. On Friday we took a drive to Utah to purchase a generator for our camp trailer. We had done the research and knew what we wanted, but we were waiting to find a good deal on them. They usually don't go on sale, and we had someone tell us that trade shows were the best place to get them. Nate is a big fan of ksl classifieds, and found what we needed for a great deal. But the bad thing about ksl classifieds, is that he likes to look for things that we usually don't need quite as much, like a horse. OK, so for me it's not a need. For him, it is. He saw one that he liked, and I knew he was serious, but I convinced him that the Suburban would be a much more comfortable ride. I wasn't interested in an impulse buy just because we had the trailer there. We drove over the top of the Uintas, stopping for a "hike" at Provo Falls. It was busy up there {for the mountains} but it was beautiful. With all the rain we've had, everything was so green and lush.

After our tour through the city, we stopped at Cabela's in Lehi for Nate to spend his Father's Day Gift Certificate. The kids love to go there!!! We watch the fish, look for the biggest elk or deer, and play at the shooting range. They're usually pretty good at not begging to buy things either. {Thankfully} We drove home on the Alpine Loop and stopped for another "hike" at Cascade Springs. A couple of weeks ago when Nate was at Woodbadge, I took the kids to Cabela's and on the way home we stopped at the Timpanogos Cave Trail. We hiked halfway up before Amelia had had enough. She didn't like the heights much. The boys were sure that we needed to make that hike again. However, I was sure that the climb would throw at least me and Sam into respiratory distress, as we are still fighting these miserable coughs. We convinced them that would be a hike for another day, but we stopped at Cascade Springs for a potty break, and Emma and Amelia were excited when they located a trail. So, we took a couple of the loops and enjoyed an evening walk. As we were walking, Emma turned around with unusual enthusiasm and said, "this is the best hike ever!" A girl after my own heart. I was able to snap a couple pictures before the battery ran out of juice.

On Saturday, Nate got up bright and early to get the horse we had looked at. {you knew it, didn't you} We cleaned up the house a bit and then put together a picnic to take up to Smitties, his grandpa's camp ground above their ranch. The boys shot their guns and bow and explored with their dad while the girls and I waded in the creek. We had a little picnic and enjoyed a quiet afternoon away from our "broken" home. As the day came to a close, Nate wanted to ride the horses back to the ranch. Clay's new horse was a dream, though. It's good for him to have a horse to ride that will give him confidence. His was shaken last year when we was caught sideways on a runaway horse. He didn't get hurt, but was pretty scared. The new horse is a paint, but is mostly black. Clay named him Storm. So now, Clay is "Storm Rider."

We got back into town just in time to see it explode with fireworks. It is absolutely amazing. In addition to the show that the city puts on, people all over town let off fireworks, the big amazing ones, and the town is just alive for over an hour with fireworks everywhere you turn. We sought refuge on grandma and grandpa's porch, and could see everything from there, even if we were a little late. We even started a tradition. Last year, we had just returned from Philmont, as in, we were driving into town at dark. So, we bought a bucket of chicken and sat on grandma and grandpa's porch to watch fireworks. We did that this year too, so it's a tradition now. I think it will be better if they don't forget to give us the popcorn chicken next time, and the girls aren't tired out of their minds and freaked out by the noise, and if Emma doesn't cry for half an hour straight. But, it was good.