Happy 24th of July!

I hope everyone had a great 24th of July. We sure did! I made a little scrapbook (above) if you'd like to check it out. I've included some of my favorite pictures below . . .

Our first event was the Bountiful parade on July 23rd. Since we live only a few blocks away, I decided to ride my bike over. Benj was already on Main Street because he had his class at the extention campus right where the parade was. You can't see from the picture, but we're in front of the family shaved ice shack! I've had so much sugar the past few days I could throw up!
This pic is my nephew Cameron (on right) and his cousin Joseph (he goes by Jo Jo). These guys were loving the candy and each caught a stuffed animal and frisbee. Score!
After the parade Benj and I decided to go to Bountiful Park. He suggested I give him a "pump" on my bike back to his car. Ha ha, I quickly learned that this is not as easy as it used to be seeing I haven't given anyone a pump since I was 10. We switched and Benj, being the strong, muscley man that he it, acted like it was nothing. I guess I just have weak legs!

TIGER PAW STORY

Benj's other true love (besides me of course) is a tiger paw every 24th of July. For those of you who have not been introduced to this delectible treat, it is a scone rolled in cinnamon sugar and then glazed with honey butter. THE best thing ever. Well, after the parade, the family goes over to Bountiful Park and buys one. You have to have tickets to buy them (dumb, I know). We got there right around 8:00ish and found the ticket booth. The lady said that the food is almost gone and that the people standing in line for food probably wouldn't get any because it was running out. Bummer. So we don't buy any tickets and go find the family. The kids are riding rides and my MIL Marcy is watching them. We tell her about the food and she is upset too. I look over at the line and it seems like they have plenty of tiger paws left. Marcy has 3 tickets to spare and Benj goes over and stands in line. While he's there, a guy tells him and others in line that they will be running out fast and they won't get any. Once again, a disappointed Benj finds the group and gives our nephew Cameron his 3 tickets to use for games instead. The line disappears and I see that they are still selling scones, so I walk over and ask if we can still buy them. The girl says YES so I run over and tell Benj. Benj pleads with Cameron to give him the 3 tickets back, but Cameron wants to try to fish pond. Benj could have forced him to give him the tickets, but being the nice uncle he is, he let Cameron have his prize. Boo. Strike 2 for the tiger paw. We go over to Neilsen's Frozen Custard and share a caramel brownie concrete to ease our pain. Good, but not the same. It's tradition! Benj vows to get one tomorrow.

The next day is the official 24th of July. Benj, unfortunately has to work until 5:00. The fair is open til 7:00 so we figure we have enough time to run to the park and get Benj his tiger paw. He gets home at 5:30, changes, and we head over there. I go to the place where they were selling tickets and they're closed. What the . . . it's only 6:04. I find a man that works there and he says, "Oh, we stopped selling tickets at 6:00." Are you freaking kidding me? AND, we wouldn't have gotten one anyway because they were already cleaning up! You're open for another HOUR, come on! Benj is genuinely pissed and we leave 5 mins after we get there.

I tell him we should go down to Liberty Park because they had booths there full of food earlier for the parade. We decide to go and try our luck. Benj doesn't have much hope left. We have to park "10 miles away" according to Benj because of the fireworks being there, but we make it over. We search the booths and see no trace of "tiger paws". However, we find a Navajo taco booth and they sell just the fry bread. We buy one for twice as much as the ones Bountiful Park was selling, and the nice native americans had cinnamon sugar and honey butter to put on it. So, Benj officially got his unofficial tiger paw. When I asked him if he was satisfied after he ate it, he said, "yes". That's all I could ever ask for.

Moral of the story: Buy tickets when in doubt, don't give extra tickets to kids, don't listen to strangers, and don't trust Bountiful Park hours.

Anyway, back to the main event . . .

Colton with his umbrella at the parade in Salt Lake.

The three boys watching the police and their motorcylces. Jo Jo (in the tie-dye) got clipped by one because they came so close to us!
Colton on the shoulders of his other cousin Jacob. So cute!
Colton sharing his shaved ice with his two grandmas. They sure love this boy!
Cameron and Jo Jo playing in the water fountains at Liberty Park.
Grandma Bradshaw and Colton inching their way toward the fountains. They didn't get too much further than in this picture.

On the sea-saw.
Benj enjoying his unofficial tiger paw at Liberty Park.
Now we're both happy!
This picture is for my brother Sam. These guys were doing a Brazilian fighting technique called capoeira. It's a mix between martial arts and dancing. They basically rhythmic fight to music. These guys have a website: saltlakecapoeira.com if you want to check it out.

Overall we had a great 24th of July. Hope you did too!