4th of July

As is our usual tradition, we began the 4th of July holiday this year with the parade through our subdivision.  The girls and Jack decorated their bikes the day before and were more than a little excited to be a part of the event.  James rode in the stroller with a festive flag and we rolled out of our driveway about 15 minutes before the parade was to start.

Jimmy's first 4th of July:

Steve and his boys:

Jack was farther ahead of me on his bike as we walked to join in with the parade.  As soon as the fire truck (that was leading the parade) let out a loud honk, Jack burst into tears and high-tailed it back to me.  He kept saying that it was "too loud."  Not wanting him to be scarred for life about fire trucks, we made sure that he got to sit in it once it arrived down at the park. 

Mission accomplished.  Jack was content with fire trucks again.

While the girls were doing some water activities, Jack grabbed a donut and scarfed it down faster than I have ever seen him eat.  It must be that all of that bike riding in the parade worked up an appetite.

Duck, duck, goose with a cup of water:

Meanwhile, Jack and I headed over to a nearby picnic table so that Jack could decorate a cupcake with lots of frosting and sprinkles.

And a flag.

A water balloon tossing game:

The girls got to the park earlier than the rest of us (I swear, they practically rode their bikes on the bumper of the fire truck) and managed to score some tattoos.  Sam opted for one on her cheek.

Decorating cupcakes with one of our neighbors after stripping their clothes off; I learned my lesson years ago and make sure to have the kids wear their swim suits under their clothes each year.

Why?  Because they always want to play at the beach while we are down there!

Those long "giraffe legs" get me every time.  She's so tall ...

Working together to make a sandcastle:

This boy could play with a bucket of sand for hours:

Cooling off one last time before we headed home for lunch:

Later that afternoon, we went over to a neighbor's house for a cookout.  The kids swam in their pool while the adults socialized (and took turns holding Jimmy).  Then, we headed home around 7:30 pm to begin baths.  The girls and Jack showered and changed into clean clothes while I bathed Jimmy and got him down for the night.  Then we enjoyed the fireworks together with the neighbors across the street.  It was Jack's first time staying up late to watch them and it is safe to say that he loved them!