Fourth of July Follow Up

     A little late due to internet connectivity issues but here's a little bit about the rest of our fourth.      
     We had headed north to Hubby's hometown to visit with friends and watch fireworks. We had some great food and did a mini photo shoot with all the kids and headed outside to listen to the band play across the street. When it started to get dark we headed out back to wait for the fireworks to begin. Froggie was hungry so I fed her and of course she fell asleep! Big Brother and his friend ran around with glow sticks (we even found one with a flag on it for Froggie and Big Brother). Froggie slept until fireworks started, which work her up. She nursed again and fell asleep through the finale!      Over all it was a great day and I think everyone had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures - my camera battery died so a lot of the pictures from the end of the night came from my phone.

Froggie and Big Brother all decked out for the 4th!

Glow stick fun

More glow stick fun

Froggie with her glow stick

Froggie and her glowstick (with flash)

Fireworks!

Big Bother thought they were too loud

Nursing covers have multiple uses

Hoppy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth of July from our family to yours!

     Well the late night construction paid off. We were able to pull a completed "Airplane" down the hill this morning for the parade and 4th of July festivities. We were joined by lots of family and the rain held off so we could enjoy the morning.
     At 10am we kicked off the morning with the National Anthem followed by the Trike, Bike and Group parades (our kids were in the group parade because they both were in the airplane/wagon). I know you're all curious to see the completed project so here it is (and some pictures from the parade).

Our decorated wagon

Hubby pulling the kids in the parade

Getting their prize

Hubby, Big Brother and Froggie with the trophy

Froggie and her ribbon

Big Brother with the trophy

     We won 3rd place! Big Brother was kind of grumpy to start off the morning but as it went on he seemed to have a good morning. In addition to the kids parade there are swim contests, a watermelon race, tug of war, a sack race and a water balloon toss.
     Most of the activities are self explanatory, you may be curious about the watermelon race. It happens in the lake and is done twice, once for the girls and again for the boys up to age 13. The kids who want to participate are divided into two teams and placed behind a rope. Someone walks out into the water with a watermelon covered in Vaseline and drops it into the water when the ropes are raised. Both teams then fight over the watermelon and try to get it to the opposite side.

Watermelon race

     While the water activities were going on Big Brother splashed around in the water and Froggie fell asleep in the Ergobaby.

Froggie and I

Sleepy Froggie

     The rain ended around 8am and held off for the morning. We headed home and grilled up some lunch before Big Brother laid down for a nap. When he woke up we headed over into town to watch them release the ducks for the duck race. The local Kiwanis Club floats TONS of rubber duckies down a creek, each duck has a number and you can purchase a duck for $5 and the chance to win one of a bunch of prizes. The money they raise goes to a bunch of youth programs including two local marching bands. However, they postponed the duck release until Saturday at 5pm. No reason was really given but it looked as though there was too much flooding/fast moving water from the creek to release them.

     Now we're headed up to visit with friends and wait for the fireworks to begin!

And the Building Begins

     Well our town does a series of events in the morning of July 4th which was a small part of a larger celebration including fireworks, food vendors, etc. Over time the size of the celebration has shrunk and all that really remains in our town is the morning events. 

     One of these events is a parade for the children where they decorate their bikes, trikes and wagons and parade around near the beach to be judged. When I was growing up this was an all out event and many years my sister and I struggled to navigate our bikes (one year I even hit the judge!)

     I, once again, waited until the last minute to begin preparing the wagon. Though I don't know how much work I could have actually done before today anyway since the structure will probably last for 24 hours or less since it's attached with duct tape. 

     Anyway, I'm not one to give away my end product before it's big reveal - Big Brother was in bed WAY before it was finished. And honestly it's not even finished yet, I'm just taking a break to feed Froggie. So far we've made it through a downpour and are working on the porch with limited lighting. 

My materials (some at least).

How the boys stayed entertained before bedtime. 

Sleepy Froggie