After a grueling two months of work overload, it was time we had a family get away so I could take some time off work and spend it with my family. It was the 4th of July holiday too, so where better to spend the holiday than on my family's farm where the mid-summer heat and humidity is unbearable, but yet nostalgic in its own right.
The best part about this trip was that my kids got to spend time playing with their cousins of nearly the same age and we got to see a lot of family and friends. The worst part was that it was a long drive. However, the kids did pretty well, and while none of us enjoyed all that time in the car, we handled it and were able to enjoy several days back in my old stomping grounds visiting family and friends.
Papa and grandkids
Attempted family photo (this was the best of the shots taken!)
Dad had gotten some heavy duty tricycles for the kids to ride, which Evan loved, and he put his basketball hoop back up per Evan's request. Those two activities were enough to keep Evan happy, but then Dad had also gotten a kiddie pool and he had the swing set that also gave the kids more fun things to do outside. Mini-truck rides are also a pretty common farm activity....though in the old days it was riding lawn mower riding (I will never forget gently crashing the one I was riding into Grandpa's camper), and then it was golf cart rides, before Dad went all out and got himself a mini-truck.
Big girl in the big kid swing (left). Cousins having fun playing with the pool (right).
When did I end up with two big kids!?
John cooling off on a hot 4th of July summer day :)
Our mini-truck ride...a much better family photo!
Another fun thing about the farm for the 4th, besides that fact that lightning bugs are out in full display each evening, is that you have the chance to see two fireworks shows. One on the 3rd in the small farm town, and then another bigger show on the 4th in a nearby "bigger" town. This year the 3rd also had a little rodeo event so Evan and Emma got to see their first rodeo (calf roping mostly). We got ourselves a front row spot up on a hill to watch the show and Evan and his cousin Kaylee had a blast running down the hill and trying to catch a horse that was being ridden at the bottom of the hill before the show started. Good thing Evan had his new "Lightning McQueen" shoes on that light up with red flashes so we could keep track of where he was as it started to get dark!
Goofiness while waiting for it to get dark for fireworks on the 3rd of July
I hadn't been to the bigger fireworks show in years, actually decades, and it was pretty amazing for what most would still consider a small town. It lasted 30 minutes and 29 seconds, timed perfectly to music. It was loud, it was bright, and boy it made a lot of smoke! We had a great view, however our view came at the price of waiting in the parking lot for over an hour to leave after it was over. You know how people refer to roads a parking lots when the traffic doesn't move, well, the parking lot was a parking lot that night. Everyone was in their car and yet no cars could move forever....not going to park there again! At least the kids fell asleep right away so they weren't up too much past their bedtime (our bodies internal clocks being on Mountain time still helped too).
Waiting for it to get dark for the fireworks on the 4th of July
Emma loving her time with Papa
4th of July fireworks finale that seemed to go on forever
After spending a few days at the farm, we went to visit more friends and family in Nebraska before heading back home. We ended up spending some time in the local mall because it was a rainy day, so we let the kids ride the mall's carousel. Emma was not happy when we told her she had to get off. And then she refused to leave the carousel area of the mall after that too. She really liked it apparently!
The carousel is so much fun!
The day we drove home it was really hazy in Nebraska, and it turns out it was hazy even all the way home! We didn't see the mountains for a good three days after we got home thanks to smoke that had come down out of Canada! Bizarre weather for sure. The drive home wasn't as long as the drive to the farm, but it seemed to take longer in some ways. Mostly because the kids needed us to stop more frequently for things then they had on the outbound drive. We were all glad to be home. Especially Evan who just wanted to get home so he could ride his new scooter some more. However, he was pretty happy when we stopped at a park on the way. He exclaimed "Yay! I'm so happy! Yay yay!" Thank goodness pretty much every town has a playground! :)
Stopping to play at a park along the drive home
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