July 4th

This was our first 4th of July in TN.  Last year we were in good 'ol Ideeho as per usual.  This year we had a baby instead of traveling.

She was worth it.

I scoured the interweb to find activities to occupy our day.  Our town apparently has a huge celebration and firework show sponsored by Pepsi.  It's a shame they held it on the 3rd and we missed it.  The 3rd!  Luckily Kitty and Michael were able to see the tailend of the fireworks show outside our house. We heard the booming as we were reading scriptures and out they ran to investigate.  They reported that it was a nice show and they enjoyed it.  Next year we'll set up our camp chairs and watch the entire presentation.

But for this year, what to do?

I found an advertisement for a boat parade so off we drove to the dam in search of a good time.  It took a while of circling to find an acceptable viewing spot.  I sat on a boulder and Mykey opted for a pile of dog poo in the grass.  Weird choice.  I had the esteemed job of using 182 baby wipes to clean off his rear end.

We waited and waited and waited until the parade finally began.  And guess what happened next?

We couldn't see the boats!  They were so far away in the middle of the lake that they looked like toys.  The other spectators assured us that last year the boats were closer to the shore and you could actually see them.  Well, that doesn't help me now, does it?

We and the other spectators retreated to our cars in disappointment.  But at least the view was gorgeous.

No matter, I had also discovered a real parade down the main street of a neighboring town.  After lunch we headed to see a parade not in miniature scale.  And guess what happened next?

The parade lasted 10 minutes and was just pick-up trucks and cars.  They did throw candy so there was that.  The only good part was a Native American couple was dressed in traditional clothing dancing and chanting.  That, and the woman sitting next to us who asked Michael if Baby was his granddaughter.  And she had a cheek full of chaw.  And right before the parade began she spit it out at our feet.  

Ahhh...new experiences are the spice of life.

But don't worry...we were sitting right outside of an arcade so it wasn't a total loss.  Kitty rocked it at Fruit Ninja and got to put her name on the high score list!

We retreated to our car in mild disappointment and went home.  We spent the remainder of the evening eating pizza and watching a movie.  It was an interesting day.

Happy bizarre 4th of July to us!