Fourth of July aka Warner-palooza

Fourth of July is a big holiday for the Warners.  Go big or go home is our motto.  I love it because all of my siblings come into town and there is stuff going on all the time.  Here is how we celebrated today:

We woke up early and dressed up as Patriotic Pirates for the East Millcreek Parade.  My mom does a float every year for the grand kids to ride on.  This year, my mom decided not to make a new float...and instead just pulled out the float from last year.  It is darling and everyone loves it.  We may just be the Patriotic pirates from here on out!

Here are some pictures from this morning:

I ordered these t-shirts for the ladies last year on ebay.  I don't know how mine gets tighter and shorter every year.  When I complained about it, my brother Rex told me it wasn't the t-shirt that was changing...

After the parade, Ashley and Tyler and their kids went to Kneaders with me for breakfast.  Everyone else pooped out and went home.  Their loss.  The food was to die for as usual.  Ashley and Tyler were raving about  it.

Then we all headed to the pool for the afternoon.  It was so fun to see all the little cousins playing in the pool together:

Even my dad came.  Buster loves to feel his beard scruff:



My brothers love to do tricks on the diving boards.  Here is my brother Cam doing a back flip.  I asked Rex if he had ever seen whales fly:

We came home for a couple hours then headed back up to my mom's for dinner.  My dad lovingly preparing the KFC:

We laughed that the blessing on the food was "Please bless this KFC to nourish and strengthen our bodies and we are so grateful for the Colonel and his 11 original herbs and spices."

My mom's candy jars were decked out in Fourth of July colors.  I don't know how she finds the energy:

Cousins often end up in the same outfits because Grandma buys them the same clothes:



The adult table (minus my mom who never sits down):

The kids spent 90% of the evening in Grandma's river:

My dad has a very weird preoccupation with these lips.  He is holding a photo of himself wearing those same lips on Christmas.  It isn't right:

Buster is totally freaked out by it:

Rex didn't buy any fireworks to do this Fourth of July and I'm sad to say, I kind of missed his white trash show.  But we got to sit on my parents driveway and watch fireworks from around the valley (I love this picture.  I stole it from my bro-in-law Tyler's facebook page:

Happy Fourth everyone!

Patriotic Pirates

Ahoy matey! This year for the Fourth of July, my mom built a pirate ship float for all of the grand kids to ride on in the annual East Millcreek parade.

Actually, Sam built the ship, Ashley's husband Tyler sewed and rigged up the sails and my mom did everything else. She really is a creative genius. We thought we might actually have a chance to win this year but once again, no dice. We lost to a very sub-par covered wagon float.

Every year, Sam grumbles about having to do the parade, but honestly, it is so fun and my kids looooove it. This year, the three oldest grand kids walked and threw candy:



The four little boys rode in the float:



and the three babies got pushed in decorated strollers:



All of the kids wore pirate costumes and me and my sister, sisters-in-law and my mom wore these red and white striped shirts I bought on Ebay...of course, my smart aleck brother Rex had to give us a hard time about wearing horizontal stripes:



The back of the float was the only thing I was responsible for. I ordered vinyl lettering and called it a day. It was a four man job getting it on straight.



Because I know you are dying for more, here are some action shots from the parade:





Of course, we finished off the morning at Kneaders eating their chunky french toast and strawberries 'n cream. I'm not much of a breakfast eater but it is DELICIOUS! I may or may not have finished every one's plate:



The rest of the day was low key and I actually got a nap while Sam took the older three kids to Kung Fu Panda 2. I needed the sleep after the crazy weekend we had--it has been Warner-Palooza with tons of activities and dinners and a family picture and Luke's baptism. I will report on that later!

Happy Fourth everyone!

Our Fourth of July

This year our Fourth was pretty low-key. It wasn't nearly as exciting as last year's Red, White Trash and Blue Fourth of July.

Remember how Easter fell on General Conference Sunday and none of us Mormons knew when to dress our kids in their Easter clothes? That's kind of how it felt having the Fourth of July fall on a Sunday. Nobody in Utah really knew when to celebrate so it kind of got stretched over three days.

My family did all of our celebrating on Saturday morning. We woke up early and went to the East Millcreek parade. It is the perfect small town parade where the floats are small and kids ride bikes and throw candy. The best part is, you don't have to get there early to get a seat. My kids usually ride a float in this parade but since my Grandpa Poole (who makes the floats every year) passed away a few months ago, we just went to watch. Being at the parade really made me miss my Grandpa.


Sam had already ran 15 miles that morning...I hadn't.



My kids got more candy than they do at Halloween (yes, that is a guy walking his dog in the parade--I told you it was small-town!):


After the parade, we went to Kneaders for breakfast. If you haven't been there for their all-you-can-eat chunky cinnamon french toast, you haven't lived. They serve it with fresh strawberries and cream and it is to die for. I never go out for breakfast so this felt very decadent to me.


My only complaint is that Kneaders has started doing what the OG has done for years with their bottomless salad and bread sticks--You ask for more, and they bring you one more tiny slice. You ask for more again, and they bring you one more tiny slice. If I have to ask for more 15 times, I don't think they should be able to call it "All-you-can-eat." They obviously don't want you asking for more. Drives me crazy! Luckily, the diet coke was flowing and I was able to drink to my heart's content.

We came home and Sam and I both spent the rest of the day trying to sneak off to bed for a nap without the other one noticing. He won.

Red, a Litte White Trash, and Blue

I love the Fourth of July and I love it even more when it falls on a weekend. We started celebrating on Thursday and didn't finish until Sunday (when we couldn't wake up for 9:00 church!) Here is how we celebrated our red, white trash and blue Fourth of July:

Sam left early Thursday afternoon to take the kids camping. He did it all--prepared the food, packed the jeep with the gear, kid's clothes, etc. I am a huge fan of camping--as long as I don't have to go!



Ryan and I met my Aunt Pandy, cousin Kelly and her darling little girl, Bailey for lunch. Ryan and Bailey were born three weeks apart:

Bailey putting the moves on Ryan:


That afternoon, Ryan and I hit the outlets in Park City where I blew the wad at Hartstrings and Gap outlet. We then enjoyed dinner at McDonald's. I eat at Micky D's a lot with all three of my kids but somehow it feels trashier when it is just you and an toddler enjoying a ten piece nugget and fries.

Saturday morning we headed out to the East Millcreek parade. Every year my mom and 90-year-old Grandpa build a float for the kids to ride. My brother Rex and his kids were in town and they rode with us.





My dad bought these babies just for the parade!


My cute grandpa--he is a WWII vet and survived the Bataan Death March. He got to ride in a convertible during the parade:


Sammie petted every dog in the vicinity:

We came home and Luke and Sam played the wii for about 5 hours straight, (which thrilled me--let me tell you--that is another post.) Finally, we went up to my mom's for a BBQ.


My mom goes all out on the food. Ashley don't be jealous. Even the jello was all pimped out:


I love this picture of Sam laughing and probably telling a lewd joke:


Ryan got dirty at dinner and we pulled his shirt off. This is where things really go white trash:


My brother Rex pulled out the fireworks. We got in a debate about whether firecrackers are trashy or not. I just loathe those big stands they put up in parking lots with all the fireworks. I especially hate the idea of driving to Wyoming to bring home the big daddies. So hessian. Anyway, I digress.


Rex light'n it up:

Rex admiring his handiwork:


The kids in awe:


Of course, the sparklers. Miraculously, no one got burned this year:

It went downhill from here. We headed out to see fireworks and waited and waited and waited. Finally at 10:20, we left and went home. The kids were exhausted. Can't wait for next year!