An opportunity to good to pass up

Shayne was invited to tag along with some friends for a month long parade tour this summer. We weren't sure if we'd be able to survive without him for a whole month! It was a chance of a lifetime that he was so excited to go on and we knew he have experiences like no other time so off he went. I dropped him off at 3 am and he along with the H family and 8 beautiful shires were on the road. The first stop was in Provo, UT for the 4th of July parade.

After spending a week in Utah they started heading cross country to Wisconsin to participate in the Circus parade in downtown Milwaukee. They pulled a newly restored circus cart that was huge and beautiful. The hat that Shayne is wearing above was part of the circus uniform.

The whole H family plus Shayne in full uniform

After this parade he spent time all over the mid west. He slept under the stars and rode and cleaned horses and who knows what else. He has so many great stories to tell. He spent all of July riding and living a dream life. He worked harder than he's ever worked and did things that he never thought he'd do but he LOVED every minute of it.

They headed back to Utah for the big pioneer parade in SLC on the 24th so we decided to go and watch him firsthand.

My mom, the girls and I scored great seats for the parade. I made a great deal with the people camping out next to us... I told them I'd bring them a dozen donuts in the morning if they watched our chairs overnight. It worked like a charm. Perfect seats. Now if only the weather was perfect! It was a bit warm, to say the least, but we loved being so close to the parade action!

Shayne doing his thing. Isn't he so cute?? (don't tell him I said that!)
Their horses where the most beautiful by far. They are huge!

And the little cowboy.. well... too cute!

Did I mention that he grew an inch while he was gone?

He's now taller than his mom! He must have been fed well to grow that much! This trip we stayed at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. I loved that little place. We'd been there once before but staying there we got to explore so much more of it. Its a fun place to hang out.. or to be locked up in this case! And what would a trip to Utah be without all of our favorite stops as well? We got our fill of Training Table, Temple square, Provo Canyon and of coarse BYU.
We had a great time and were so happy to see Shayne!

He's already gearing up for next summer!