me and julio

Our fourth of July was spent:

 1) wishing Baba was with us instead of in China. I mean, this was his fourth 4th of July in China? At that point patriotism has to come into question I believe. Anyways. He was gone, and we were sad he wasn't with us. 

2)  trying to explain the whats and whys of the holiday to Abel, Yosef, and Delena, who I brought along this year for our usual Bagley family traditions (why do kids decorate their bikes and chuck candy at you etc ) 

3) picnic up mill creek canyon with The Chipmans. And when the name Chipmans and picnic are in the same sentence, it is not what you are probably picturing. Or at least what I picture and make for a picnic. Laura (Eric's mom) is a phenomenal cook, and food is never just food. There were hot trays of baked beans, fried chicken and ribs, coolers full of tasty drinks, fold out tables. A fourth of July feast, that just happened to be in a meadow in the mountains. 

4) watching Anna run around the grass in the dark when the day finally cooled, the picture of childhood innocence and fun trailing glowsticks as wings while fireworks exploded in the sky.

We picked Eric up from the airport at 1:30 pm. Then left to the Bagley cabin on Monroe Mountain by 3:00. Again, sometimes words don't include all they should. "Left" meant finding a spot for all our stuff somewhere between the two trucks (one pulling the horses, one pulling the ranger and the dirt bikes) then climbing into my dad's massive Ford, smelling somewhat of old mice droppings-- moreso to a pregnant lady I'm afraid-- and buckle up for the hot four hour journey south. We fit six people in each truck, three carseats. 

But oh how it was worth it. This little wood cabin my grandpa built, and the green green pasture it sits at the edge of, is one of those magical places filled completely with childhood memories and yet still somehow so very fresh and almost inspiring, every time you get to go. I was so happy to bring Anna here.

"Making magic potion to turn bad witches into really nice fairies."

Trying to keep our hands to ourselves. 

My dad, looking very much like his dad, the cowboy.

We got home from the cabin at 6:30 pm, and by 7:00 were in the car and on our way up to Snowbird for the rest of the week. Eric had a conference, and we had ourselves a back to back mountain getaway.

Mo with Jesse, and Erin with Eve and Afton all came up for a morning. At one point, I was holding Eve and watching the three other little friends play in the bounce house, while Erin and Mo lived it up and went on rides completely child free, and I'm pretty sure the woman watching me thought I had triplets, a baby, and was pregnant. Anna is so lucky to have such great and funny friends right from infant-hood. And I love both their moms, so I'm just as lucky.

When our hotel room ran out Saturday morning, we went up to the top of the canyon for a wildflower hike. If you live in Utah, it is definitely worth a journey up Little Cottonwood Canyon this time of year. You will be greeted with clean air, cooler sunshine, and flowers that look happy to see you.