A Fun and Busy Week - part two

On Wednesday night we headed down to Utah County to begin the Pioneer Day celebrations. We stayed the night at Bill’s parents’ home in Orem. Although we gave her very little notice, Bill’s mom very kindly organized a last minute breakfast get-together in our honor. Many thanks to Bethany and Hardy and Bob and Shelli (and of course sweet baby Jed) for waking up so early to come spend a bit of time with us. It’s always nice when Bethany and Caleb can celebrate their Pioneer Day birthday together. If only I had remembered to take some pictures of the birthday pair!

After breakfast we were off to Spanish Fork for Grandma and Grandpa Barnes’ annual 24th of July extravaganza. We stopped by the parade first. We only caught the end of the parade, but honestly, that’s just about the right amount of parade, especially for Bill!

Amanda, Caleb, and Joshua at the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days parade

The parade was followed by much food and fun at the home of Grandma and Grandpa Barnes. They always put together such a nice party on the 24th. It was especially great to see Aunt Margaret, Uncle Henry, and my cousin Tassma and her cute kids, who all traveled from out of state to be there. While we waited for the food we had a rousing Bingo tournament with lots of great prizes. Caleb won a slingshot and was in heaven, pretending to be Dennis the Menace. The food was great and of course we took a few minutes to sing happy birthday to Caleb. I’ll try to write a separate post for his birthday later. Many thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Barnes for their hospitality. They are such kind and generous people!

My Grandma Barnes is one of my very favorite people. She's always wanting to help others (like in this picture where she's washing Amanda's face). You'd think after 40+ years of being a grandmother she might be slowing down a bit, but no, she's still an amazing grandma and great-grandma. We sure do love her!

Messy-faced Amanda modeling the princess crown she won in Bingo.

Various family members enjoying the festivities. Notice Grandpa Measom in the stylin' cowboy hat. The above picture is of my sisters Erin, Marnie, and Amber.

The little kids table: Eli (Amber's son), Joshua, Amanda, Caleb

A chocolate ice cream cone - the highlight of Joshua's day.