Happy July 4th

We had a fantastic day yesterday, so fantastic we are still recuperating from it. We enjoyed the parade, the carnival, and the fireworks. I asked Whitney what her favorite part of the day was and she said the girls that did flips (gymnastics float) and the bouncy toys (the blow up castle and other toys at the street fair). I am glad she mentioned the latter but that is a story for another day. Here are some pictures from our day.

Ryan watching the horses. His first parade was a success. He enjoyed watching the floats and all the people. This was a before picture (before we lost our shade). I didn't think to take an after picture, but his face was bright red. People that didn't know would think that I was a rotten mom for letting my baby sit in the sun without sunscreen, however, I did put it on him, he just gets really red when he is hot. His face was normal color again by the time we got home. This was probably the only part of the day that was spectacular for Ryan. He slept through the firework show. Don't worry little buddy, there is always next year!

There is something about July 4th that brings out the capitalist in us all. Whitney and I made this great parade hat (thanks to familyfun.com for the idea). It should not have surprised us to see our same hats (though not as cute) being sold by a mom and her daughter for $5.00. What is this world coming too? I am only ashamed that I didn't think of mass production first. This one happened to be McKenna's but she let me wear it. Thanks for sharing since I didn't make one for myself. I'll make sure to get that done for next year.

It pays to be cute. One of the people in the parade gave these very cool sunglasses to Kenna just because she looked like she needed them. Kenna I am so glad you came to visit during the summer. Tell your Mom and Dad that they need to do it that way more often. It is way better than winter visits.

Here is Whitney donning her homemade liberty necklace and a mouth full of parade gum. We had a great seat at the beginning of the parade right on the curb so there was an abundance of candy.

This year we had a reservation at one of the hotel's downtown for the fireworks. It was great to have good parking, a place for babies to sleep, a great view, and a swimming pool. It was also great to not have to pack everything up and go home, we just went to bed. The only thing I missed was not running into all the people downtown. Usually I spend the evening visiting with friends from high school, college, old neighbors; but I did not run into anyone because I was up in a room. So my review of the evening gets 3 stars. In my opinion the one con outweighs all the pros. It was fun and I am glad that we did it, but I think I'll go back to the river or park with everyone else, so I can visit with old friends. Hope you all had a good July 4th and I'll see you next year at the river!