Pioneer Day 2025

On Pioneer Day, July 24, we hosted a family shindig for JB's/the Arbuckle side of the family. Nearly the whole gang, minus a few who were absent due to work commitments, gathered at our home. We cooked and served hamburgers and hot dogs, with side dishes brought by our guests.

A portion of our group went to the nearby HOA pool for swimming, and I accompanied them to ensure they could open all of the doors (i.e., I brought our clubhouse fob). This was one of little one-year-old William's first times in the water, and he was a bit shy about venturing out any farther than the first step down into the pool.

After swimming, we went back to our house to eat and play games. William continued to keep us entertained by running around with an American flag:

... and climbing through the dog door (as he is just the right size to fit):

The day before had been JB's dad's birthday, so we got him a cake. Everyone joined in singing "Happy Birthday," after which he blew out the candles:

Pioneer Day 2018, Part 2

Pioneer Day fell on Tuesday, the 24th (in case you weren't keeping score at home). This is to commemorate the day back in 1847 when Brigham Young, upon entering the Salt Lake valley for the first time, said: "This is the right place. Party like mental ward escapees, and shoot off your fireworks like a bunch of junior high kids left to their own devices! Heck, you may even start a whole bunch of new brush fires to cause added stress and grief for our brave firefighters, already battling a number of blazes in this arid, desert climate."

OK, so, I may have paraphrased a little.

We gathered at Mom's house for a family BBQ and swimming for the kids. That included spending time with our two youngest nephews, nine-month-old Ike and ten-month-old Tanner:

The rockets' red glare shined in other places that night, but not with us; we passed on fireworks this time around.

Pioneer Day 2018, Part 1

Pioneer Day, our great state holiday, was observed last week. Of course, that always means multiple days of celebration 'round these parts. On Friday, July 20, we went to Bountiful City Park to see Ben and Steve and their band, Bluegrass Thunder, perform just prior to the annual city parade.

These kids had a great time listening on the grass:

I love how Ike's red hair has been coming out lately.

Pioneer Day 2017, Part 2

My previous post on this year's Pioneer Day festivities was about stuff that actually occurred Sunday, July 23, which was also July's family dinner night.

On Monday, the 24th, I got the day off work and got to go along for a boys'-day-out lunch with Ben, Christian, and Graham at Sizzler, where we had a jolly good time together.

In the evening, JB and I made it over to the Heads' for our annual unofficial Improvables troupe fireworks show, where we saw many very bright and very loud things go boom. Somehow, baby Parker slept through most everything:

Fortunately, we escaped nearly dry just before a major cloudburst. And lived to tell the tale.

Pioneer Day 2017, Part 1

We had a blast (get it? fireworks?) celebrating Pioneer Day about a month ago. Fortunately, no fingers or toes were lost amid the fun.

I played a little bit of soccer with Kate in the backyard:

Graham's spider sense was tingling:

. . . but it turned out to be some very enthusiastic neighbors setting off some very loud fireworks of their own before it got dark.

Later, Graham and Jake, both cousins and buddies, enjoyed the fireworks show, provided by my more pyromaniacally inclined relatives:

And everything was great.

Pioneer Day Weekend

Perhaps you heard, but we celebrated Pioneer Day weekend last week. The actual day fell on a Sunday this year, which meant that the neighbors basically shot off fireworks well past midnight for four straight nights.

Antelope Island caught fire Friday night, and it looked rather scary from my vantage point in Bountiful when I snapped this photo:

Anyhow, as a family we got together Saturday so the kids could go swimming, and that was followed by a barbecue at Grandma's and Grandpa's house.

Christian and McKenna had fun with an old favorite, Bristle Blocks:

And there was much rejoicing.