A Big 4th

I'm not sure if it's possible to tell the whole 4th of July story, but let's try in picture form.


It begins with beer keg hockey, where teams of 3 compete for a cash prize.

That was on July 3.  That afternoon, Wiley and the Wild West performed in the park (funded by "the anonymous donor", probably David Letterman (who I'm still waiting to come and watch the parade from in front of our house).  Wiley is a great yodeller.  As a matter of fact, he's the one that recorded the Yahoo yodel and has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry over 50 times.

After having the best grass-fed hamburger I've had, sold at the Wiley concert, we headed to the ice cream parlor for Sunday night ice cream.  Wilcoxons is the best ice cream ever.  Then, we settled in for anticipation of the actual 4th, the biggest day in Choteau.

It started with decorating..

And full anticipation of the parade....

The biggest rhubarb pie ever was ready......

Then the biggest crowd ever showed up in our front yard for the parade and Beth's Mom's slushes.  We're beginning to wonder whether it's the parade or the slushes.  We were happy to be joined this year by many friends and much of Mike's out-of-town family from parts far and wide - South Dakota, Colorado, Maryland, and others too numerous to mention (Dave is holding Mike's new Griffon puppy.  Others are holding their slushes).



Some of the really interesting entries in the parade (way too many to show just interesting).  This is a sheep herder's wagon.....

The combine that had been cleaned at the girl's volleyball car wash.......

Mike readying for a big water battle with his son Calvin........

And the battle was on.....

Oliver ran a lemonade stand (Laurie might have done most of the work).....

Mike again getting ready for, this time, an unfair (stupid?) battle.....

Now, for a neat July 4th twist.  Beth has been mourning no kids here yet this summer.  By accident, she found that a friend of Whit's, Clay, who we've known since he was a little kid, is on a great cross-country adventure - his Freedom Tour:  http://murraycg.wordpress.com/.  Take time to check it out.  It's some great reading.  Anyway, Beth tracked him down through some of the great new social media (i.e. Facebook).  He had passed through Choteau on Friday, right past our house, and was camping and hiking in Glacier National Park.  Beth contacted him and invited him to fill the big void left by 3 missing children and 2 spouses, and Clay was kind enough to oblige.

He missed the parade, but was here in time to catch part of the rodeo...

But maybe the best, he made it here in time to join us for barbecued chicken with all the fixin's, the pie, and good neighbor friends...

We all watched the famous Choteau fireworks last night, hit the bed after a long day, and got up late today for a little more - a trip to the Bynum reservoir...

This is a lake created for irrigation...











Whew!  That was a bunch.  Hopefully, that will keep you blog fans satisfied for a while.  Keep your letters, encouragement, comments, and notes coming.  We do appreciate them.  And again, remember that you can click on any photo to see it full size.