4TH of July

I am on a shuttle headed to Las Vegas and then to home. I chose the $5.00 more expensive shuttle and it has WI FI and better seats, more comfy all the way around, so now I can post while riding pretty cool huh? I chose the 4th of July since it is that time of year. I love the 4th and always have, usually my family plans a trip of some sort or we definently get together to picnic and watch the fireworks. This year we were going to the Grand Canyon but cancelled when Kathryn passed away, it was for the best, somehow I didn't feel like celebrating. My love and excitement for the 4th goes back to when I was a child. Remember me saying what a great uncle my uncle Don was? Well he was a Bishop in the Cannon stake in SLC, they lived in what I considered a mansion, it was beautiful, always clean, a two story house and the stairs were kind of like a winding staircase, (really they just turned but it seemed elegant), and they even had a dishwasher, (remember that was in the 50's). They had a Baby Grand piano in the living room and carpet too, and the basement was all finished, not a cellar like ours. But I am off the subject again, at least you can see why I loved to go there. Oh, one more thing, they had a swing set cemented in the ground and you could go so high I loved swings too. We did have a rope in a tree that was fun too but I have stories about that later. Well anyway, back to the 4th, every year the stake had a big carnival at Jordan Park. It was just down the street from uncle Don's house and we got to go. Uncle Don gave us lots of tickets, we could buy cotton candy, play fish and get what my grandson calls cheesy souvenirs, but oh how I loved and treasured them, that is why I let my grand kids always buy them at the grocery store, I loved them and felt special. Anyway we could buy hot dogs or hamburgers, and the best part, when we used up the tickets, he seemed to have more, it was way better than the fair. When we were tired we could go to uncle Don's house and rest for a while then it was back for fireworks. My fathers cousin Wanda Sims' husband was the caretaker of the park so we got extra good places at the fireworks, (or so I thought). Marilee was the double cousin Judy, Ellen and I went to the park with. Between uncle Don and the Sims I felt like I was related to all the important people back then, I mean wow, uncle Don's had so many tickets and I was related to the caretaker of the park, that had to give me special treatment. Now I know that uncle Don bought all those tickets and I was probably a greedy little thing but oh how fun. You know I don't remember the older kids there much, maybe they didn't like to hang out with the little kids. They must have gone to uncle Don's allot too because Marian must of met Duane, (her first husband), at uncle Don's, his family just lived down the street from uncle Don and she was good friends with his sister Elaine to. I remember Ellen and Judy there with me and even at a young age I remmber mom letting us go off with just Marilee, how fun it was. I must have been young because it seemed like a huge event, now I realize it was not all the big but it was super then. I think grandma Belle came sometimes I remember her sitting at table and checking in with her sometimes. Anyway that is why I love the 4th of July, cheesy souvenirs, fireworks and getting together with family.