Independence Day

Today we went to the Fourth of July celebration in my hometown. I went to this celebration every summer when I was a kid. It was so neat to be able to take the kids this year. It was pretty weird being there after all this time too. I saw a few people I knew when I lived here before, and was able to reconnect with some old friends that I haven't seen in forever, but it's amazing to me how much this place has changed. There were so many people that I had never seen before.

We got there at about 10:30 this morning, and walked around some while we waited for the parade to start. It was supposed to start around 11:00 I thought, but I don't think it got started until about 11:30. The kids were getting pretty impatient. I was too, for that matter. Finally, we got to see the parade, which wasn't as big as I remembered. Even my mom said that there didn't seem to be as much as there used to be. Oh well. At least there wasn't a huge crowd, and the live music was actually pretty good.

We decided to leave there close to 2 p.m., because we wanted to take the kids to another parade in the town we live in now, which is just 10 minutes from where I grew up. We found a great place right on Main Street where I was able to park the Volvo and we were able to sit on the back while we watched the parade. The kids went out and stood on the curb so they could catch any candy that was thrown their way. I have to say that the second parade was better than the first we went to today. The kids enjoyed it, although they said there were too many firetrucks...lol.

After the parade we went to have dinner with my mom and her boyfriend. After dinner we just hung out and visited while we waited until it was time to go see the fireworks. We were within walking distance, so we walked over to the area where they were shooting off the fireworks. There was an emergency and an ambulance had to come transport someone (not sure why), so they were kind of late getting started. We all enjoyed the fireworks show, especially the kids.

We had a long, busy day today. I have to say - it was nice being here for Independence Day this year. Yes, we were able to go to Independence Day celebrations while we were in Germany, but it wasn't the same. I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth! My battery died on my camera today, so there were some things I wasn't able to take pictures of. My mom did, though, so I'll have to get copies of them from her. If she got a photo of it, I'll have to put a picture on here of my favorite sign that was on a trailer pulled behind a tractor in both parades. At any rate, here are some photos:

This little chopper was for sale at the first celebration we went to today. J. wanted it so bad. I wasn't able to get it for him today, and my mom had a talk with him about having to learn to listen before he can have something like that anyway. Maybe he'll take that discussion more seriously coming from his grandma.

I loved this guy in the second parade we went to. He had a little monkey on the front of his chair. It wasn't real, but would wave. The kids thought it was really neat.

My precious babies. Isn't J. a little cheeser? He always has been. This is one of the times I've been able to get A. to stand still long enough to get a good picture of her face. She's always so busy.