Fourth of July Weekend

Our weekend was jam-packed with family fun!  To kick it off, we attended the St. Paul Rodeo & carnival on Friday night.  We enjoyed corndogs, barbecue, cotton candy, funnel cakes and burritos before taking our seats in the grandstands.  The atmosphere was electric, and the patriotism was heart-felt. The rodeo announcer prayed over the festivities, and every time the american flag passed by, the spectators would rise. Watching the cowboys ride the horses bareback was super impressive, but the girls really like seeing the Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls do their trick riding and roping.  During a bathroom break, Dadda, McKinley & Tessa visited the Marine Corps booth and participated in the pull-up contest.  Dadda topped the leaderboard with 24 strict pull-ups, but McKinley wowed the crowd with her 6 pull-ups.
The next day we did some berry picking at Rowell's Brothers Farm, then took at trip to Erratic Rock State Natural Site in McMinnville.  It was a short walk to see the largest, glacial erratic found in the Willamette Valley. This boulder hitchhiked from Montana to Oregon, encased in an iceberg, via the ancient Missoula floods.  When geologists first measured the rock in 1950, it originally weighed 160 tons, but after public enthusiasm for the erratic soared, many visitors chipped away souvenirs, reducing its bulk to just 90 tons.
The morning of July 4th we returned to St. Paul for their annual parade.  The girls enjoyed waving to all the rodeo princesses on horseback, but were most excited for all the candy they collected.  That evening we joined our neighbors in the cul-de-sac for food, games, karaoke, and fireworks. McKinley  bobbed for the most apples (7), while Momma won the watermelon-eating contest.