4th of July in Taylor, AZ!

After 13 years of being away from my the place I grew up, it was time to go back for the 4th of July celebration. This celebration is what Taylor is known for. It started bright and early in the morning (5:00 am) with the firing of the anvil and the Jennings Band. I didn't play in the band because it's been over 10 years since I've played my flute. But my brother Greg played. The firing of the anvil consisted of an anvil, lots of gunpowder, and another anvil. It was lit by a long torch and made a very loud noise as the top anvil went flying in the air. The whole town followed behind the band and anvil truck and made stops in order to fire the anvil off. The band played, the cars honked, and water balloons went flying. Oh the fun of a small town. Greg's kids were a little afraid of the boom of the anvil. By the end, they finally got close enough to actually see it go flying.

After the anvil, there was a patriotic program we all went to. It helped us remember the real reason for the celebration. It was a great program. The speaker was very enlightening.

Then it was time to move on to the rodeo ground for the BBQ and Navajo Tacos. We ate the Navajo Tacos for lunch and the BBQ for dinner. In the evening was the Taylor 4th of July Rodeo and Fireworks show. This year was not disappointing. The horses and bulls bucked, the barrel racers raced, and the clowns were as corny as ever. The fireworks show was awesome (much better than the show in ShowLow we had seen the previous night).

The 2 friends I took seemed to like the celebration of my hometown. It was fun to share this with them. It was a quick trip up to Taylor, but well worth the drive. Hopefully I can go back again and continue the traditions that started in my childhood. It was good to go back and see people I hadn't seen in years. How things have changed in that area, yet how things have stayed the same.

What a cowgirl I am. I'm ready for the rodeo now!

Me with Stevens' horses.

Andrew and Jordan eagerly awaiting the rodeo to start.

Apache Lake

On my birthday (June 27) we had a relief society campout and lake activity. I worked half the day. Work bought a cake and sang. Then I went to the Cheesecake Factory (yes, my favorite restaurant) with Nicole for lunch. After eating some wonderful food, it was off to Apache Lake. I took 3 girls in my car with me. Well, the dirt road was a little windy and narrow. We were on that road for about 20 miles. Needless to say there were two stops for vomiting from one of the passengers.

Once we got to the lake it was worth the drive. It was a beautiful lake. We got our tents set up and relaxed for the evening. It was so hot there. When it came time to sleep, we were all sweating in the tents. So we took ice cold bottles of water and laid them on our bellies and next to our faces to cool us off. How did the pioneers ever do it?! Morning came early with the rising of the sun. We were anxious to get on the boat, kayaks, canoes. Just getting in the water and out of the heat! We went on the intertube first. The driver of the boat kept trying to throw everyone off! It was awesome to watch people flying through the air. Not so fun to be the one flying! I was then informed that the boat didn't have waterski's (even though this was announced as a waterskiing activity-go figure). All he had was a wakeboard. Well I have never been wakeboarding. So I thought why not try today! So I did. I got up my first try! I was a little excited about that fact. Once I got up, I wasn't sure quite what to do, so I didn't stay up too long. It was a good time though. The water was cool and refreshing.

When we were all tired and had enough fun for one day, we drove home a different route that only took 15 more minutes. Why we didn't know this route previously, I'm not sure. I think everyone that went built some good friendships and had a great time. I know I did!



Me intertubing with Kiersten-we stayed on!



Me wakeboarding! Oh yeah, I got up.

Family Camping Trip

I love to camp and have a good time. My family went camping in June for 4 days and 3 nights up by Mormon Lake. I went up early to make sure we could get a good spot. I brought my nephew Andrew along to help keep me company while we were waiting for the rest of the family to show up. It was absolutely beautiful. No phone, no tv, no computer. I brought Chester along. Let's just say Chester isn't a camper. Within a few hours his belly was covered with at least 100 bites from the nats. So me being the brilliant mom that I am, I spray him down with bug spray. Well Chester didn't like that so much, so he licked at it. I think that made him sick. He didn't each much the rest of the trip (except pine cones), but hey, no more bug bites! I think he was wishing for his blue chair or the cool tile floor to lay on most of the trip. He did love the walks that the kids like to take him on.

We had fun camping. We ate a lot of good food. The kids all fished and we caught 8 total! The boys cleaned those fish and fried them up. However, no one ate very much of it. Horseshoes was also a popular game. I do remember Lynnette and I kicking some trash against Greg and Dallin. Yeah, that was fun! Campfire songs and smores were also a hit. I can't forget that late night adult only rook game. I do believe Lynnette and I dominated in that as well.

One of the best parts of this campsite were the flushing toilets. That may sound silly, but this is the only campground in the whole Mormon Lake district that had flushing toilets. I definetly found that very nice. Not to mention there were coin-op showers there! We were in luxury even if it did cost $3 for 5 minutes. At least the water was warm!

It was a successful camping trip. Hopefully to be repeated in future years. Aunt Julie was a little overwhelmed with the 10 neices and nephews at times, but still enjoyed watching them have fun. They sure know how to find firewood. Note to self for next trip-don't buy firewood if Nicole's kids are coming! The campfire was always roaring when we would let Josh build one. Oh the fun memories of family camping trips!