July the 4th

We were all pretty tired out after our big vacation and didn't feel up to planning a big gathering for Independence Day. However, we did feel like escaping the oppressive heat of the valley.  I was accused on Instagram by a certain desert-dwelling sister-in-law of being a total baby after declaring that we couldn't wait to run away to the cool mountains despite the fact that we had only been back from the mild North West for about 36 hours. That happened when I posted these pictures of us at Silver Lake the day after we got home:

The day after Silver Lake was Independence Day and we once again went for higher and cooler ground. We loaded our canoe, which we have christened Penny (short for her brand name: Penobscot), on top of the cruiser which we have christened Inigo. We apparently have a thing about giving names to inanimate objects. We packed up a cooler, which we have not named (yet) and drove away, listening to Harry Potter and nibbling on munchies. We found ourselves at Trial Lake and just enjoyed paddling around in the sweet breezy air.

Part of the thrill of canoeing for the kids is bringing along our fishing gear.  The past couple of years of camping and fishing have yielded very few fish for the kids, so I had high hopes of snagging a couple. So after we got out into the lake a bit we began trolling our lines.  Skippidy especially wanted to catch a fish since she never had. This was kind of hilarious - Troy prepped one of the rods, plopped the lure into the water, and had a fish on the line before he was able to hand the rod to one of the kids. It was a little funny and sad. But we thought it was a good omen for the dozens of fish we were going to catch. Instead, we spent two hours getting exactly zero more fish. We decided it was time to head home, but let Skippidy trail her line through the water on our way back to shore. Lo and behold, just as we were getting close to shore, Skippidy got a hit. A real one. And she herself reeled in her very fish!

After we made it back home, which was a bit of a trial due to the fact that two fish had to be cleaned and Cap nearly fainted and/or puked while attempting it, we looked forward to a quiet evening enjoying some burgers on the back porch with the Moores. I know, we should have had our fish that night but we needed a little break from things aquatic. I was secretly hoping that the kids would forget that sometimes we go see fireworks on the 4th of July.  I really really really wanted to NOT go to Sugarhouse Park and deal with crowds and parking and walking and blah blah blah.  However, I have one daughter who was not going to give up that easily.  Skippidy does not care for the noise of fireworks, and Cap is settling into his teen years and starting to prefer to chill out over most other activities. But Bitty? Nope, she was not to be talked out of a trip to the fireworks. 

And here is where I will hesitantly share my new secret. Do NOT go to Sugarhouse Park for the crazy fireworks. Go to the SLC Country Club. They have open admission to their golf course. Bitty and I arrived in the area only 2O minutes before the show started, and we had no problem parking. We had a nice little walk to the golf course, where there was plenty of room everywhere. We spread out a blanket, plopped down, and waited about 4 minutes before a fairly impressive fireworks show started. We loved it. Bitty is right - it is absolutely magical to sit in the warm darkness of a summer night that is just mild and lovely, and enjoy a sparkly show of fireworks right over your head. Bitty and I totally bonded. I'm so glad we went. And that is where we will be going next year - hope to see you there. But don't tell anyone else.