Friday, July 23, 2010

small towns

There is something about the 4th of July in a small town.  Years ago, while traveling through Idaho on the 4th, we were forced to a complete stop on the highway, for several hours, to allow the local parade to pass.  This was a one-stop-light, blink-or-you'll-miss-it town, and the locals did not seem the least bit worried about the cars backed up (ok, there were less than 10) down the road.  And actually, we were pretty entertained, both by the novelty of the parade, and by small town idealism that lets a parade stop highway traffic.

Provo is not a small town by this measure.  But it is small-ish. And it is where my sister lives.  She and her family graciously let us stay at her home with our 6 kids to enjoy the 4th with her family in a smallish town.

The festivities included fireworks in the church parking lot.

Stadium of Fire from my sister's house on the hill.  The best seats.
Dress-up box exploration with the cousins.
And then there was the traffic-stopping parade.
Thank you Emily and Steve for hosting our family on such a fun holiday weekend.  You made 8 extra people at your house (+ Nana and Papa + lots of day visitors) look so easy.  But I know better: It's a lot of work. You're the best small town big family.  EVER.

9 comments:

amyegodfrey said...

Great photos to remember that fun weekend! I especially love the dress-up ones.

Amy said...

oh my gosh--this sounds very creepy stalkerish, but since i live in provo maybe not. i totally walked by that parking lot with my roommate when there were a bunch of families there setting off fireworks that night! too bad i wasn't really paying attention to who it was, otherwise i would've come to say hi!

Sarah said...

amy,
that would have been cool to see you! i, however, did not go down to the church parking lot because i stayed home with the babies and one puking child. but you would have recognized molly.

Emily said...

I'm laughing that you said that Idaho parade took hours. Hours and hours!

Come back any old time. We loved having you.

Sarah said...

emily,
how long do you think it lasted?

Emily said...

Well, the Provo parade was one hour. I don't think the one-street Idaho town had more beauty queens and marching bands than Provo. It is a fun memory though.

JenJ said...

Something cool about livin in Provo. Right? Does Emily love it? I wonder if they need any patent attorneys over there in the land of the Cougars.....

Sarah said...

Emily,
I remember being delayed AT LEAST an hour.

Jen,
You know those BYU students are coming up with all kinds of new patent-able ideas.

Jennifer said...

This looks like so much fun. But I comment with a heavy heart, knowing we were minutes away from each other that fateful night. We've always been star-crossed lovers, haven't we? What does The Universe have against us being friends?