Goodbye July, Hello August

We ended the fun summer month of July with Nancy's birthday.

We enjoyed a nice filling breakfast and an afternoon of gifts. 

The beginning of August brought our ward camp-out, the Parade of Homes, and Alpine Days.

For this year's ward camp-out, Jason and I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. Last year we brought all of our camping gear and stayed the night...which turned out to be a night of misery and no sleep! Not only did we feel like losers with no friends, there was a baby who cried ALL through the night! Tent walls don't exactly block out any noise. The baby could have been crying in our own tent for how loud it was. We heard a couple of families pack up and leave in the middle of the night, not able to bear it any longer (if only we had been as smart). So this year, we learned our lesson. We drove up for the BBQ, s'mores, and campfire talk, and left immediately after and slept soundly in our beds.

The Grubers love attending the Parade of Homes! As a result, this year I was introduced to the tradition. It is crazy the way some people live. I saw some of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen. Some were more impressive than others....but even the most meager of the homes put our sad apartment to shame. It kind of leaves you with mixed emotions...you feel excitement and awe for the things that you see and it gives you some great ideas, but at the same time you feel depressed and pathetic. You go back and forth from thinking, "Some day..." to "I'll never be able to have something this nice." Overall, it is so fun to see all of the luxuries, but just be prepared for the aftermath. You have to keep thinking, "There is no place like home," as you return home and walk into your front door.

The view from one of the homes in the Parade of Homes

Speaking of parades...next comes Alpine Days. For reasons unknown, I am such a fan of town festivals. I look forward to them every year. Luckily, Jason does as well. We always go to the parades...and we always leave the parade wondering why we go to them. I'm pretty sure I've expressed this before, but parades are just not what they used to be. I honestly don't care about the pee-wee and high school cheer teams. I don't care about the city "royalty". I don't care about the fifth marching band that passes by...and I especially don't care about the flag dancers that follow them. This is beginning to sound terribly heartless, but that's all that I recall seeing now days. Perhaps I'll feel a little bit more enthusiasm one day when my own daughter is marching in a big suit carrying a trombone. :)

Waiting for the excitement to begin...

 (and how can I forget about the police vehicles and fire trucks)

The truth is, we'll continue to attend the parades, and we'll continue to purchase the overpriced food from festival vendors. As the Arbons know very well...it's all about TRADITION.

I wouldn't have it any other way.