4th of july

For the first time since we moved to New York, we finally returned to Lewiston for the 4th of July festivities, and nothing has changed - I still felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. 

I was so excited for the fun to begin.  We went to Utah a few days before the 4th and enjoyed time with both of our families.  We made a trip to Bear Lake and enjoyed driving through the beautiful canyons.  As always, the water was freezing but it was nice to have a fresh water lake instead of salt water.  On our way back we stopped and grabbed a Bear Lake raspberry shake - a must when in Bear Lake.  The next day we floated the Onieda Narrows and loved just floating down the river and taking in the beautiful mountains.  After a few BBQ's with friends and family we were ready for the 4th (technically the 5th).

This is the first time I have been back in the summer and I can't believe I forgot how much I loved Utah summers.  While everyone in NY was dying from the humidity, we had to where our jackets at night when it cooled off.  However my body had a hard time adjusting to the dry heat and I got 3 bloody noses the first day I was there

On the morning of the 4th we woke up bright and early to the cannon salute and hurried and got ready for the Fireman's pancake breakfast.  After breakfast we walked over to the church just in time to see the runners finishing the race where our brother-in-law, Josh, came in second in the 10k.  Then it was on to the big parade.  The parade is a very big deal in Lewiston, so much, that many people park their cars and trailers along the parade route a week before.  Both of our parents live along the parade route and you wouldn't believe how many people not only sit right in front of their houses but some people even sit in the chairs we put out for our friends and family.  This year Jason's grandparents were the Grand Marshalls of the parade.  When explaining to the younger cousins what exactly the Grand Marshall was, Jason's uncle told them that Grandpa Larry was the president of the parade:)  Larry and Carolyn have done so much for Lewiston and definitley deserved the honor of being the Grand Marshalls. 

After the parade we went across the street to check out the activities in the park, watch the kids go on all the blow up rides and visit with friends.  Jason was very excited to finally get to go to the Lewiston rodeo, and it didn't disapoint.  After the rodeo we relaxed and visted with family, watched the softball tournament, played a mean game of volleyball at my parents and enjoyed a wonderful BBQ with Jason's family.

The firework display, all though nothing compared to Macy's, provided the perfect ending to a wonderful day.  We are so glad we were able to make the 4th this year and had so much fun seeing family and catching up with old friends.

Shae posing with her cousin Carter

Waiting for the parade to start

The Grand Marshalls

Dylan enjoying all of the attention

The Lewiston Rodeo

Dipping the red, white and blue strawberries - a McKnight family tradition

Fireworks

The Finale

newport, r.i.

Because I'm catching up . . . I will finally document our trip to Newport, R.I. that we took about two months ago.  We had heard great things about Newport so one Saturday in April we decided to take a drive.  Newport was stunning.  It was surrounded by water and we had to drive across a beautiful bridge to get there.  The thing to do in Newport is the cliff walk.  They have a paved path along the cliffs that takes you behind all of the old mansions along the cliffs.  After checking out the cliffs we drove along the water and explored the beautiful town.  Other than the cliff walk we heard the best part of Newport was the seafood.  After a little research we read that The Morring had the best seafood on the island.  So we walked around the town, enjoyed some scallop chowder and the bag of doughnuts (a variety of fried seafood).  Everything was wonderful and we had a great time in Rhode Island.

hamptons

Before leaving for the 4th we squeezed in our first trip of the season to Southampton.  Cooper's beach is by far our favorite beach on the East coast but after learning it became the #1 beach in the US.  We've decided we like it even more.  We had a lovely day in the sun with so many friends.  There is really nothing better than a day on the beach surrounded by all of our favorite people.

Our group (we took up half of the beach)

The girls

The boys playing football

visitors

May was a fun and busy month for us - we had two sets of visitors come and see us.

First the McCulloch's came out to see us and it was so fun having them here.  It was Nate's first time in the city and I think he liked it, despite the bomb scare in Times Square and the Staten Island Ferry crashing:)  Julienne has been here before so she pretty much knew her way around and they were able to discover the city while we were at work.  We were able to show them around Central Park that included a ride on the row boats.  And if you know the McCulloch's you know there had to be a sporting event in the trip, the Yankees weren't in town so we made it out to Queens to see the Mets.  I have never met a girl that knows as much as Julienne does about sports.  I think she knows more than most of the men I know:)  While they were here, Nate celebrated his birthday and we had to make sure he had a NY cupcake to celebrate his special day!!

Shortly after the McCulloch's left the Theurer's arrived.  My mom and dad came out for a weekend visit and this was my dad's first time to the city.  I had been planning their arrival for several months and I couldn't wait to show my dad around.  Although I was very nervous this country boy wouldn't like the big city.  I took two days off work and spent the time taking them all around.  We did the double decker tour bus so my dad could see the best of the city from the top of the bus.  My mom had several orders for purses so we even dragged him back in the secret rooms to pick out hand bags along Canal street.  One morning we went to Regis and Kelly and got to see Anderson Cooper and Kristin Davis, and I was so glad they got to see some good celebrities.  It was quite the experience and I was so happy to hear my dad liked the city and was surprised by how nice and clean they keep it. 

The highlight of their trip was seeing the Yankees play.  My dad got us amazing seats right behind third base and we got some great shots of A-Rod.  Before the game we met up in Central Park, had brunch at the Boathouse, saw the row boats and got a little lost but enjoyed seeing the beautiful park while trying to find our way out. We did and saw almost everything in 4 days and the last day they came to see our apartment and we ended with a nice dinner out on the pier along the Hudson. 

We loved having visitors and we are so glad they liked NY and now that they've seen it we hope they will come back and see us more often.  Thank you for coming and seeing us!!