A Country Pool

When Kathy and I were discussing what was going on for the 4th of July, it was a unanimous vote that we spend it at Kathy's house.  She kept asking me if I was sure that I wanted to spend it in little ol' Malad.  I love it at her house.  It is so peaceful, quiet and a different pace in life. And, both of us were going to be without husbands. So we pooled our resources and joined Kathy on this beautiful day. Before Troy had left for Utah, he cleaned out and sealed this steel trough that they once used for their kids when they were growing up.  This is how country folk do it. I felt like it could be a Ford commercial for a wading pool....built like steel.....Ford Tough!

I did finally manage to get Victoria's hair into a ponytail. Though we didn't manage to get enough sunscreen onto these white, soon to be farmer tanned bodies. There was a lot of ooohing and aaahing going on later that day.

So let me tell you about the water.....it comes straight from their well, deep under the earth's surface.

It was FREEZING!!!

 Kyle just could resist the challenge of being immersed in frigid temperatures. He managed 5 minutes!  I made him get up since I didn't want to have to call 911.Victoria managed 1.5 seconds! They spent quite a bit of time getting used to the temperature.  Kathy put her suit on and started a whirl pool with the kids and then told Victoria to dunk down and let the water carry her.  It was funny to watch. We always have so much fun when we are with Kathy.

 This is Smokey.  Now, Smokey is Rich's cat, who has moved in with Kathy because Rich has sold his house and can't have pets with him for now.  If you know Rich, you know that he doesn't let cats or dogs into his house. He just doesn't like their fur or dirt getting on the furniture or carpet.  Whenever we would visit Rich, Smokey would sit at the glass door and plead with his eyes for Rich to let him in.  He would momentarily while he escorted him to the opposing garage door.  So...notice where Smokey is stretched out enjoying life. Yep, on Kathy's bed.  Lucky cat. We took a picture and Kathy sent it to Rich on his phone to see what his cat is doing while he is away. 

This is one satisfied kitty. The same cat I watched pounce on a mouse type animal and sink his teeth into.  I had to look away while he ate it.  And to think he wanted me to accept his purry breath afterwards.  Yuck.  Anyway, just in case you wanted to see his little smiley face enjoying a soft, cozy bed to lie on. By the way, Rich loves Smokey and Smokey loves Rich. 

 Miss Cooking Show Girl insisted on cutting the onions for our hamburgers. She was crying uncontrollably from the salicytic acid burning her little peepers.  So we gave her swim goggles to wear.  It did the trick.

 I am pretty sure that my Dad has a black and white picture of my Aunt Carol wearing a diving mask while she was cutting onions as a child.  I will have to see if I can find it.

I love being at my cousins. I would have never imagined that we would be working side by side in eachothers kitchen after all these years.  Kathy is a wonderful mentor and mother.  Doesn't that watermelon look yummy? If I remember right it sure was sweet.

I love this set of pictures.

Jared....Don da da dunnn...

Victoria.....my turn, get down....please....

Victoria......I have marshmallows.....I ......am........Queen! Ta Daa.

Jared....what?, Queen of Marshmallows?

He sure can pop a bubble when you have one.

Actually, this is a special rock.  It sits just beside the water faucet and begs to be stood upon, jumped off of and sat on.  And there is a special blue marble wedged into a hole.

 While the other two were fighting over the rock, Kaleb was busy roasting marshmallows to perfection.  Kyle had his first Smore that night. 

 We made it into the edge of town, which I later found out that we were next to the cemetery, just in time to watch fireworks.  Now...are you ready for this.  Malad has some SMOKIN' FIREWORKS! The firefighters had their engines down in a dirt field with tons, TONS of fireworks.  They were awesome.  To think that just the night before people paid $25 to see Freedom Fire with their fireworks that were very repetitive.  Malad's fireworks were sporadic and ......explosive.....exciting. Plus there was some little creature just at our feet in the grass.  I could hear it scurry, so I am thinking it was a littel mouse or chipmunk frightened by the commotion.

The grand finale lasted FOREVER with a spark, a pause and then a sonic BOOM! This happened about ten times intermingled with red, white and blue explosions. I had to prepare for the Boom it was so loud. We were all very satisfied as we sat on a blanket on the side of the road, near the cemetery..........

So, our 4th of July was awesome!