4th of July in Heber, AZ

This weekend Preston and I drove up to Heber to spend the weekend with my family. There was a small chunk of my family hedge here. It's not a family tree because there is extended extended family and when we try to draw it out, instead of it going up and down into roots and branches it just keeps extending sideways. Hence the hedge. Altogether we had Grandma Jean and Grandpa Butch (Patty's dad and step mom) Benny, Samantha and Jamie (long story but they are part of my extended extended family) Miracle, Mikayla, and Anya my youngest sisters and my dad and Patty. It was a last minute decision. We weren't planning to come at all but Grandma called at like 10 AM and begged us to come on the the 4th, she even offered to pay for gas (which was our reason for not coming in the first place, gas is ridiculous these days!!!) So we came! I packed up the puppy and left after Preston got off work.

Dad made all sorts of yummy food. Pork chops and mashed potatoes the first night, the best french toast the next morning, brisket barbecue and beans, then salsa and chopped up watermelon for during fireworks that night. This morning is fast Sunday so I helped myself and the baby to some leftover tasty pancakes for breakfast but we did weasel him into making some ice cream for us before we left. The girls were jealous cause they are old enough to fast now. As always we had some fun times.

When we got there the girls and Preston thought it would be fun to introduce the cat (who is deathly afraid of dogs) to Charlie (who has never seen a cat before). When the cat saw the dog she hissed and her striped tail poofed up to the point where she looked like a raccoon. The girls were squealing and laughing so hard! Miracle felt bad for the cat so she closed herself in the bathroom where the litter box and food for the cat was and loved on her. About an hour later I went in to use the facilities, lol, and could only open the door part way because Miracle had fallen asleep on the floor with the cat. Laughing my head off, I ran to another bathroom cause by then I was about to pee my pants. I ran back to get a picture but Miracle had moved by then and instead I found this...

On the morning of the 5th we went to the annual Heber/Overguaard 4th of July parade. I never got around to taking any pictures of that but for the record Preston and I got our arms sunburned sitting out in the sun. The best part was when the fire truck drove by with a guy on top squirting the water high into the air and when it came down, it came down in droves! I had an umbrella for the sun but still managed to get wet, ha ha! It was also the best part cause it was like the second to last thing before the end of the parade. Which meant we got to get out of the heat and I wanted a nap!


Charlie made friends with Buddy (Grandma and Grandpa dog)

After that everyone but Preston and I left (Grandma and Grandpa back to California, Benny, Samantha and Jamie back to the valley). Around seven that night we piled into the van supplied with dad's homemade salsa, watermelon, water bottles, blankets, chairs, and dad's ginormous wagon (which can seat three like a bench when you put down a side flap). Dad had scouted out a nice hillside with a perfect view in the direction of the fireworks earlier so we made our way there.
Once there we set up to wait and then waited... for 2 hours... and 2 hours with those girls when they are cold or uncomfortable or just don't get their way can feel like 5.

Grumpy Kayla

Waiting for fireworks, Anya was a little grumpy too, lol!

Preston looks like the girls here ha ha! Sleepy or grumpy? What do you think?

When they finally started it had gotten so dark that my eyes were not prepared for the bright flashes. It was kinda comical and painful. The first flash made me tear up and for about first 5 minutes I had one hand in front of my face to dim the light hand the other was wiping the tears off with my shirt, lol! Though, it was worth it. The fireworks there are the best! It's so dark and the town turns off the street lamps so all you can see is the sky filled with the biggest explosions ever! I got a few pictures of them too!

This morning was nice and lazy though. I was tempted to go back to bed after I got up but our mattress was deflated just enough to make it really uncomfortable. Oh well... I hope everyone had a safe weekend!

Happy Independence Day!