Pioneer Day

Leah is deathly afraid of loud noises associated with fireworks, guns, and sirens, so this her normal stance when there is loud noises in the vicinity.

Annie kicking it at the parade

Annie getting ready to ride

Leah on her horse, Misty

Since we are still on sabbatical in Utah, we got to be here to celebrate Pioneer Day (July 24th). It was a busy, fun-filled day. We started bright and early (7 am!!) with a breakfast hosted by Brian's parents ward. Then we trucked on down to downtown Ogden for the parade. There were quite a number of fun floats and then of course the usual parade entries (police, fire engines, rodeo princesses and their horses, high school marching bands, cheerleaders, etc). I was disappointed that no candy was thrown. Apparently there is concern about small children running out to gather candy and then being run down by a float. That's the risk you take, I guess. After the parade we headed down to the "This is the place" state park in Salt Lake. It was fun to see pioneer life and be at the place where they were finally able to rest from their long journey across the plains. The best part was Leah and Annie got to ride on a horse. It wasn't anything fancy, but it fulfilled Leah's desire to mount up (see Rodeo Queen post). After we all had heat exhaustion we headed back to Ogden for a BBQ and fireworks. What a day, but we were glad to be in a place where the Pioneers are officially recognized for all the sacrifices that they made for us.