Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July was just dreamy. In the weeks before Fourth of July, Mark and I were planning what we were wanting and we just kept going back to Soda Springs. In my mind, Fourth of July = Soda Springs. It is just engrained in my little noggin – so to Soda Springs we went!

I called up my Grandma and asked if she was going to be around that day and she made it such a treat for us. We met her at Hooper Springs which is honestly the BEST park. Not only is it overflowing with nostalgic feelings for me, but I think my kiddos would agree that it is THE BEST! It is filled with huge trees (perfect for climbing), an awesome playground filled with all of those nostalgic toys I wish were still in playgrounds, a stream, and, of course, Hooper water!

{I LOVE just looking at these pictures – the blue sky, green grass and trees…oh…it makes me HAPPY!}

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It was such a treat to spend the afternoon with my Grandma. She made it a special day for us and I am so grateful for all of the effort that she put into it. We had a lovely lunch, chatted, played, and Grandma had all of the kiddos try the Hooper Springs water.

Now, for those of you that have not had the pleasure of trying Hooper water, let me just tell you about it. It’s bubbly, so it tastes like carbonation, and has a little bit of a metallic-like taste to me. It was great listening to my Grandma tell the history of it all to the kiddos.

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After we were there for a couple hours, we made our way over to my Grandma’s house. We tried putting Lydia down for a nap but she just wasn’t having it. The other kiddos had fun playing with Grandma’s toys and discovering the BASEMENT! They thought it was awesome! And I laugh because there was NO PLACE scarier to me than Grandma’s basement growing up. I would run past the staircase EVERY TIME! But they thought it was amazing! After a little while, we decided we would start our journey back home.

We drove over to Grace because I wanted to stop and see my Grandpa Clegg’s headstone – this was the first I had seen it since his passing last October. That cemetery is so peaceful and I appreciated having the opportunity to check in on Grandpa. The kiddos had so much fun finding all of our ancestors there. It is a small cemetery but boy, our family presence is STRONG! I told the kiddos some of the last names to look for and they had a great time finding all of our family.

We pit stopped (and had perfect timing) to see the Soda Springs Geyser. It had been awhile since I had seen it and it was fun to share with the kiddos.

After that we made our trek back home.

The next night (the actual night of the fourth), we woke the big kiddos back up to watch the fireworks! This is our third Fourth of July living in Wyoming but we’ve never been in town before and didn’t know what to expect! We had such a perfect viewing spot from our front yard. Jacob, Sarah, and Mark were jumping around loving every minute (well, Mark wasn’t really jumping like the other two, but he was enjoying it 😉), and Benjamin and I were sitting tucked back a little bit enjoying it from the front step (Benjamin is still a little nervous about fireworks since “the incident” last Fourth).

My favorite part of the night was probably when Benjamin said so casually, “I wonder if they are watching the fireworks in heaven.” Such a sweetheart.

It was a beautiful weekend. I am so grateful for the time I was able to spend with my Grandma and together as a family. I love our country. I have a deep reverence for our founding fathers and the people that have endured so much to give us the freedoms that we enjoy. I pray that we never take them for granted. Happy Birthday, America!