Vacation: The 4th of July, Jo City Style

We're about halfway done with the vacation posts. Woo! Sorry if you're bored of them, and don't want to hear about it anymore, but I'm definitely not done writing about it. It was a really busy/awesome week and a half! 

Jo City, Arizona is a very small town.  It's where my Dad grew up, and most of his family still lives. It doesn't have any stop lights, but it does have my grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins. And while you may not see it at first glance, or even at second glance, it's seriously one of the most fun places on earth. You gots to get creative, but its so worth it. We used to take long roadtrips from Texas every summer, and it was always the best two weeks of the entire summer. There is something to be said for small towns and big families, that's for sure.

We started the 4th of July right, with a fair in the park. There were all kind of booths, water games, balloon animals, and we didn't make it in time to witness it, but I'm told there was even a parade. All before 11:00 AM. That's how we do.

This is my sister Jackie's little girl, Jane. She was in LOVE with this ice cold kiddie pool. In. Love.  And she's got Grandma and Grandpa (and everyone else) exactly where she wants them with just a scrunch of her little button nose.

This is her "I am so stinkin' cute, how can you even stand it?" face.

Here is my Grandpa Hansen settling in to watch the fun with with Cousin Alicia and her adorable family. Seriously, her kids are so cute. And they say the darndest things.

Grandpa doesn't say a whole lot, but when he does it's also the darndest. He's quick on the draw, thats for sure. The bishop was running a dunking booth, and grandpa leans over and says, "Do you think he's trying to get some baptisms in?"

They finally got Jane to come out of the kiddie pool. This is her, "Can you believe these people will do anything I say? They totally love me." face. She is a lady of many faces. All of which are stinkin' cute. Even the angry face.

Grandpa decided Jefferson needed some real adventure, so they went off in search of some fun.

And they found a pony. Say what you will about Grandpa, but he always delivers. Jefferson rode it four times. By the time he was through, he was telling everyone "that's my little horse."

Look at that tongue! Hansen genes right there for sure. We come from a long line of tongue biters.

They also have an icecream making contest every year. Every fair should have an ice cream making contest. The boys cranked their little hearts out, but we started too late to have a chance of catching up. We didn't win any official prizes this year, but in the end everyone eats ice cream so really, everybody wins.

"Oh, let me help you with that. You're welcome"

 The kids got a little thirsty, so the helped themselves to the packing ice.

In case you were wondering, that was Jane's "You made all of that for me? Thanks a bunch, boys." face.

 My dad is always telling us about the crazy things they did when he was growing up in Jo City, and flattening things out on the railroad tracks was a favorite pass time of his back in the day. Jefferson loves trains, so this was right up his alley. After the fair they rounded up some pennies and friends, and went to catch a train.

 Trains are loud (that terrible squeaking, as Lacy would say), so the kids took precautions.

Jefferson's little facial expression and hands are cracking me up in this one. Doesn't is just say "Most excellent" to you?

After the train passes, you have to go hunt down your coins. They're delightfully smashed.

After our possibly illegal excursion, it was time for dinner in Aunt Cat's back yard. Aunt Cat and Uncle Derron live in the house my Nunna (great grandma) and Pumpa (great grandpa) built and raised their family in.  They fixed it up, and their house is so dreamy. It should be in a magazine, for real.

Jason and Jane were doing some BMX tricks for us before dinner. That girl loved it. She is so crazy.

Also, Jane made fast friend's with their little Scottie dog. She is all about some doggies.

Speaking of new animal friends, Cory was very impressed with my Uncle Derron's Record Breaking Elk. He's decided we need one of our very own. Maybe when we're out of this apartment... 

Also pictured is the corn Aunt Julie and I grilled. It was quite the experiment. Seeing us behind the grill definitely caused some anxiety in a few guests. Apparently, we don't inspire much confidence. But, things only caught on fire like, twice. So, it was fine. And it was delicious. So it all worked out.

We ended the night huddled under cardboard, blankets, and umbrellas as we watched the firework show in Holbrook. Rain?? In Arizona?? We were not prepared for that. Things got real in the huddle. We all swore a pact never to speak of it again, so that's all I'll say about that.