Independence Day

What a fun day!  We filled it from top to bottom.

First thing (6am), hot air balloons:

We then found ourselves a spot to watch the Freedom Festival Parade.  We happened to run into my niece, nephew, and friend, so they sat with us too.  This photo shows the amount of fun we were having in the hot sun, but it's the only photo I got:

The parade was hot and sweaty and sticky and the babies were especially tired, but it was good.  I had a good time, anyway.  I love a good parade, even in the hot sun.  (I obviously need a thesaurus.)  Which brings me to this:

As we were walking back to our car (my kids were surely whining about how hard life is) I came to the conclusion that from now on, I will plan activities because I will have a good time.  Yep, I'm selfish like that.  If my kids come along and happen to have a good time, well, that's a bonus.  This way, I'm not disappointed when my kids are complaining all amongst the fun things I plan for them.  I'm sure it's just the beginning, so it's a good thing I come to this conclusion before their teen years.  ;)

We picked up a pizza on the way home and after lunch and liquid refreshment, we all took naps.  Maren was serious about this business:

 We spare no effort.  Kids are funny.

We all woke up feeling much happier and ready for Play Hard, Round II.  We had Nick's dad, Nick's brother, and Nick's brother's girlfriend over for dinner.  Am I being silly?  I just podded a gallon of peas, finished product.  You'd be silly too.  Anyway, we had ribs.  Mmmmm....ribs.  And ice cream:

And then we headed to park a spot for the firework show.  The kids played on the playground, we stomped on some snaps, we threw a frisbee, the kids climbed on Uncle Nate:

I had to include this sweet photo of Lainey, who took a break from the rough-housing to get some lovin':

Glow sticks provide hours of entertainment (for all):

 We were joined by my nephew and niece (a different nephew and niece) as well.  Ha!  I just noticed that in the above photo, Maren is perched on Nate's shoulders under Ellie's arm there.  Funny.  Anyway, the show was great, and the best part?  It took us 10 minutes to get home.  Traffic was a breeze.  Hurray!

And, one more hurrah!  The kids did sparklers the next night:

It was the perfect way to spend a holiday!  I sure love my USA!