I invited myself to stay with my brother and sister-in-law. What I didn't realize at the time was that my other brother's family would also be there. It was great! Thirteen kids under one roof for six days. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it worked out. Everyone had a fantastic time. My kids were in cousin heaven.
One day we dropped the big kids off at the amusement park. My girl was quite upset that she couldn't go with them until I assured her that she could go with them when she was a teenager. Only nine years to go. We took the littler ones to the Air Force museum. We picniced under the tail of a plane outside before going in. The museum was quite interesting. Buddy Boy has learned a bit about the Wright brothers and liked the replica they had of their first flyer.
Buddy Boy took the camera for a few minutes and snapped a couple of these.
I like that he took a picture of his reflection in one of the planes. I'm not sure why it tickles me so much.
The highlight for the kids was the empty platform and podium. My Girl spent quite a bit of time speachifying. I couldn't quite hear what she was saying, but she had a lot to say and was taking it all very seriously.
We also went to the LDS Church museum of history and art. The kids played and practiced their Mexican folk dancing in the kid room while the adults rotated out to see the art exhibits. I really enjoyed seeing how the different artists interpreted the theme of the exhibits.
On the night of July 3rd we went to see the fireworks in town. This was high on the list of things to do for the trip. My Girl really wanted to see fireworks that go "whoosh--kaboom!". We had a good time with the crowd at the park, dancing with the band, eating three different flavors of popcorn, and playing games. By the way, if you make kettle corn with coconut oil it tastes really good.
On the 4th we went to another cousin party. My uncle has a great yard, nice deck for eating and visiting, a pool, and a giant DIY slip-n-slide.
That night the neighbors put on a firework show that rivaled what we had seen at the park the night before. It was quite a show. I was only a little worried for my brother's roof.
We spent a rainy day picking up, going for a little umbrella walk, and running a few errands. That night we jumped at the chance for free tickets to the un-rodeo. What is an un-rodeo you ask? It's the event that takes place in between the nights of the PRCA "real" rodeo. It was pretty funny. We saw BMX and ATV barrel racing, horse-drawn-wagon races, stick horse races, and last but not least steer milking. Teams of two chased steers around the ring trying to rope them and get the ribbon off their tail. We got rained out after the steer milking, so we missed the mutton bustin' and what must have been a pretty muddy hide race. In spite of the rain it was worth every penny we paid for the tickets.
After all of that it was time to head home. The kids were exhausted and even though I was having a great time I was ready to be home again. Thanks to a DVD player in the car and McDonald's playlands all across Nevada we made it home. It was a great trip. Now that I've broken the ice and made the long drive, I'm willing to do it again... but not for awhile.
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