Small Town Holiday Fun

There are many things about growing up in a small town that I didn't appreciate growing up.  Now, with a little perspective and a long time living in anything but a small town, I find myself reminiscing for those simple small town pleasures.  And what it really came down to is I hate 4th of July in Las Vegas.

It's the worst.  There is no good place to watch fireworks, all of the events are very adult themed club parties and, unless you can just get a great group of friends around you (which have made past years bearable) it is just overall lame.  But, as Jon and I shared our small town 4th of July stories, we realized small town just do 4th of July right.  And it was time we did 4th of July right.

So 9 hours later, we found ourselves in Gridley, CA, pop. 5000, ready to party.  Oh and party we did!

The kids got all dekked out in their red white, blue and shades.

We the headed to the nearby town of Biggs for the parade and festival.  We all were a little hesitant while heading out because it was a hot day.  Not Vegas hot, but still in the triple digits.  But Biggs party planners knew what they were doing.  There was shade all over the place and it was pleasant the entire time.

The festival was small town perfection.  There were four free bounce houses that my kids rotated between.  We scored some awesome face painting that I didn't have to wait 2 hours in line for.  Plus where else would my children score all of this awesome Patriotic/camo gear?

The parade took me back to a better place.  Old men driving around with small hats in small cars, little dance teams trying to keep up with their music and the cars in front of them, every fire truck in town, the town royalty, and every other float sporting their very own candy thrower.

 We were all in heaven.

After the parade, we got to spend a little time in the petting zoo where my children got to cuddle up to all kinds of creatures for a buck.

Asher was way more brave than I thought he would be, even when his dear little goat friend knocked him down, he was still going strong.

We then made our way back to Gridley, threw our swimsuits back on (we kinda lived in them all week) and were joined by our friends the Andres and the Colettes.

What could be more perfect than an afternoon of kids splashing in the pool, croquet in the front yard, a giant tricycle ride, good snacks and even better company?

 

We then took the party back to Biggs for a fantastic fireworks display.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Nobody can beat a small town 4th of July.

The rest of our Gridley vacation was filled with spending some great time with Bert and Charla, swimming almost every waking second of the day, and drowning ourselves in the ripe peaches that we picked daily from Charla's trees.  I even got to do some canning and jamming with said peaches and brought the delicious splendor home.  I guess that is the nice part about living in a big town that doesn't know how to throw a good patriotic bash, it makes a trip home seem like an escape dream vacation!