Getting out of that Ordinary Everyday Rut!: Small towns, good friends, and the 4th of July!

We spent about a week and a half in Artesia with my family which was simply awesome! Let me count the ways it was awesome 1. My brother is home from Afghanistan and was in Artesia the same time as us!!!! 2. We got to spend tons of time with my favorite little little brother Natey Rea (aka Nathaniel Reagan) 3. We were there for the last year of the famous Dean's Pyro Team firework show 4. Spent lot's of with family and friends and 5. It was just good to be home for a bit.

From the moments G and Nate were together they were their normal little peas in a pod selves :) They had so much to catch up on!

A dad and his boys

Showing me his very impressive facial hair :) Good job little brother, good job

Nate and G photo bombed this picture but still a worthy shot :)

Finally altogether! If only T had made the trip with the kids we would be whole!

Uncle Bubba earned a bunch of cool uncle points because he shared his love for fireworks with the boys

Lighting up the the sky!

Little G's appreciation of "cool cars" grew even more when Uncle Bubba took him for a ride in the Corvette

There's probably more reasons it was fun but that just about covers the main points :) Growing up in a small town it was definitely hard to appreciate everyone knowing everything, the expectations and pressure, the fact there really wasn't much to do, and just all the typical complaints about a small town. While some of those complaints might have a leg to stand on, there is also a long list of great things about a small town, specifically my small town of Artesia NM. While it's true everyone might know everything about everyone, what's also true is you will never see another community rally around it's residents like this small town does. It's quite impressive to see how the local businesses pour resources into the schools, how people get behind causes and people, and to see how the community steps in when help is needed. It's also quite impressive the amount of community pride there is! From sports events (specifically football!), to holidays Artesia certainly knows how to rally for the event! It was really fun to be in Artesia for the 4th of July because this year was the last year the Dean's Pyro Team is putting on their famous fireworks show! Sad, but fun that we were there. If you have never seen it before it's seriously one of the best shows you will ever see.

4th of July parade!

Here comes the parade!

Local celebrity Terry Maupin

Probably the coolest ambulance I have ever seen

Glad to see my real home town of Hope represented in the parade.

A Miss America in the making with that little wave :)

What's a parade without horses??

A couple of good looking boys I picked up on the side of the street

Sister, Brother, son/nephew :)

This pretty much sums up Babie and Pops house...shirtless boys, trampolines, and guns :)

We also got to spend time with family which was the most important part of our trip and see many friends, although no matter how hard we tried there just wasn't enough time to see everyone. I feel like it's always like that when we go home. Overall we had a good trip home, and before we knew it we were heading to Colorado for our last leg of the trip!