4th of July in Soda Springs

It's become somewhat of a tradition for Josh and I to go to Soda Springs, Idaho for the 4th of July. I love going because a lot of people from High School come back to visit their families and also because Soda is a really fun spot during the 4th. They have train rides, fair booths, craft set ups, a parade, and lots of good food. We decided we would take Josh's sister, Sara, with us since she was going to be staying with us the rest of the summer. She was a great help and we had a great time :) We stayed at my Grandma Bagley's house. She fed us extremely well and had plenty of her awesome oatmeal cookies on hand. Sara was amazed at Grandma's house and all the work she has and continues to put into it. Josh, Sara, and I went to the fireworks and watched them from the road. The next day was the parade that included a gigantic shopping cart! Only in Idaho right? David, Julie and Grandma came and watched it with us. Then afterward we went to the carnival. There was a booth of all these quilts that were exquisitely designed. It made me want to quilt and sew more. I ran into Desiree and her family which is always really fun, I love her little family. And I had to go through the Cemetery and review all my many relatives buried there. We had a really good time, and I was very glad we went.
The most fun I had during the trip was when Grandma Bagley sat down with us and told us all these neat stories about her family and named the people in the picture frame. She has boxes of old pictures and has a vast knowledge of her family history. One story was really inspiring. My Grandma's grandfather, Daniel Balls, came to Soda Springs to homestead a house. He had purchased property and while they waited for Daniel to build the house, which I think included a winter,he and his wife Mary, who was pregnant with TWINS! slept on the loft in their neighboor's barn. I think this tops any discomfort I experienced for sure. Grandma says Daniel was a very kind sweet man. Her father said the only time he was ever physically disciplined by Daniel was once when he was very upset at him, he wacked his shoulder with his dress gloves. I thought that was very impressive.
On the way home from Soda we stopped by a couple who had served in Joshua's mission. They are super nice and really fun. They had a farm/ranch where they could get their work fix. :) That's definitely what I'll need when my kids are grown, some projects I can keep busy with.



And of course, we had to stop at Bear Lake. Sara
is fashionably sporting the all famous Garden City
raspberry shakes in front of Bear Lake.