Freedom, Food, Family, & Fireworks

No surprise that I was extremely excited to celebrate the Fourth!  With a new town comes new traditions.  We woke up early to get to the parade route to stake our claim.  We also learned our lesson after many years of being unprepared at parades - the camping chairs came with us this year.  LaVor found the perfect spot under a tree, that provided us with plenty of shade the entire time.

The motorcycle unit from the police department started off the parade with some loopty loops in the intersections.  They were loud and smelled of exhaust, both of which got The Lime riled up.

Following the officers were the veterans carrying the flags as well as a couple super heroes. Not sure how they were incorporated into everything.

The Lime could hardly contain himself when he saw the fire trucks coming, especially because the hook and ladder was leading the pack.

Several other floats followed, throwing out candy, waving, and wishing us a happy Fourth. The couple sitting next to us commented that the parade was much shorter this year than in previous years. It was over in about thirty minutes.

We had thrown around the idea of seeing a movie but after arriving at the theater, we discovered it was sold out. We grabbed a bite for lunch and returned home so The Lime could take a nap and I could get started on the potato salad.

Within a few hours, family arrived and The Lime and Laina were overcome with giggles and excitement. They dressed up, played and played, then it was time to eat.

It was still outrageously hot after dinner so we blew up some water balloons and the kiddos threw them at each other. The Lime tried to reenact our events from earlier this week, and attempted to throw a bowl of water on Auntie Amy. Despite being pregnant, she still has cat-like reflexes.

In between water games, we gobbled up some decked out ice cream sandwiches and popsicles.

LaVor bought some water guns at the store a few weeks ago, and although they're fun and shoot far, they're a little hard for three year olds to pump. So instead, they sucked the water out of them.

It wasn't long until it was dark enough to start the fireworks! Our city was putting on a show at the fairgrounds but we opted to shoot some off in the neighborhood. We got our chairs lined up and enjoyed the show.

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday and I look forward to instilling the same love and pride that I have for our country, in The Lime. We are so blessed to live in a free land and I love celebrating it!