This Fourth of July...

was H.O.T.

It's not like it's nice in the morning than hot in the afternoon. No. It's 90 degrees by 8:30am. Alas, we decided to brave the city parade anyway. We figured we'd see some fire trucks and cars that would entertain the kids. Before the parade though, we stopped at our church for a flag raising ceremony and pancake breakfast.

So we enjoyed some conversation, got covered in syrup, changed some diapers, and loaded up the choo-choo wagon. We walked along the parade route to find a spot and felt like such a spectacle because people were already seated and they were pointing, laughing, and ahhing. Unfortunately we couldn't walk on the sidewalk out of view because people were blocking it.

The parade was uneventful to say the least. We probably won't do it again because of the heat and the fact that it was majorly boring, even for two year olds. I guess I've just been spoiled with parades where I grew up where the weather is perfect in July and there are dozens of handmade floats. There are dance teams, bands, and cheerleading squads who increase the excitement level a little bit. Parades where you get chocolate milk, dr. pepper, or awesome coupons. Anyway, I digress but basically what I'm saying is the heat wasn't worth it although we're glad we went so that now we know. :)

Our friend took this family picture. Caleb was having a meltdown so he wasn't cooperating but he's there behind Zachary. I think the heat was getting to him and he was just over it.

Leah was having a GREAT time with the tiny flags that had been handed out. She was sure showing off her American pride!

The kids were in heaven when they saw their first fire truck...

We spent the rest of the day napping, playing out in the pool, and making a small trip to Ikea. Oh and I can't forget driving all over to find a Sonic for Clark's happy-hour slushie. The original Sonic we stopped at had a broken slushie machine. Thus began our search. We prevailed though and boy was it worth it! Clark always says, "If I stayed home with the kids, I'd hit up happy hour at Sonic everyday!" :)

A couple days before the fourth we decided to try out a local pool. I've been wanting to do it but needed reinforcement just in case things went south. It's a zero-entry pool that is only about one foot deep in the center and it's in a gated area. Perfect right?

Well the kids were totally freaked about the whole situation. Zachary was VERY apprehensive and was taking the tiniest steps into the water. It seemed he was afraid it was going to drop off at any point. The uncertainty of it all took away the fun for him. He's also a pretty skinny guy and the water was chilly so he was shivering away! Poor thing. Here we are with our buckets. The kids stayed together in this spot for a while. Then Caleb decided to make a move...

 

 Caleb's great in that way. He's pretty adventurous after he warms up to something. He climbed right up the steps of the water structure and watched as all the big kids ran by. He never cried or anything and loved pouring buckets of water all over himself. Leah on the other hand...

As we already know, she's not much of a water baby. She VERY cautious and risk-averse and this particular activity was far beyond her comfort level. She got her toes wet and stayed at the very very edge of the pool while playing with her bucket. Then she found some letters and decided that was more fun anyway. She identified those letters over and over and was having a blast. Whatever girl!

Leah has been a little bugger lately. She doesn't really engage in any of our toys anymore and basically revolves her day around making the boys miserable. She obviously prefers human interaction rather than sitting isolated in a corner to play with something. Even if that interaction comes by her stealing something and getting someone to chase her. She LOVES to get a rise out of her brothers and it drives me crazy. She's so smart and sweet but seriously, she is always up in someone's business looking for a good time. We're not sure what the next step is for her. She is starting to pretend more and sometimes has a good time when I give her some measuring cups to pretend she's cooking with. Maybe an interactive doll, barbie, kitchen stuff, or a challenging learning toy. Not sure. But we are definitely on the search for something that will keep her attention and focus away from her innocent brothers.

We had a great Fourth of July week with Clark around. Never a dull moment! Maybe next year we'll let them stay up for fireworks...

probably not. :)