4th of July!

I woke up on the 4th of July excited that Robbie is finally old enough to start to enjoy holidays.  I feel like I have been waiting my whole life for these moments!  I love to celebrate, and although birthdays are my favorite, holidays offer lots of variety in how and what we celebrate.

I want my kids to appreciate what they have been blessed with, by God's grace.  So although they're too young to grasp the importance and meaning of Independence Day, they aren't too young to enjoy celebrating it.

Who doesn't love a red (strawberries), white (sort of - bananas) and blue (blueberries) breakfast?!  The donut pieces were just for fun - because it was a special day (and I had treated Rob to Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast!).   Robbie was excited... and Ellie, well she still sleeps most of the day!

Although it had been drizzling all morning, we were NOT going to miss the Wheaton Parade!  We packed: 2 very full diaper bags with layers of clothes / snacks, the wagon, a stroller, a quilt, towel, 2 lawn chairs, and a bag of decorations including pinwheels and mini flags to wave during the parade.  We met our friends, the Greens, on the corner of Front and Main, conveniently situated next to Starbucks and the Farmer's Market!  We had a little store-front-stoop we could huddle under when the drizzling rain got heavier, and it was also a great spot for Ellie to hang out most of the time.

Heather and I decorated the wagon together once we claimed our space on the sidewalk, and we were pretty excited about the way it turned out!  (Robbie kept trying to eat the foil stars off the garland.  Didn't see that one coming.)

The sweet little Green family!  We love them so much.  (Have I mentioned that selfishly, I'm glad they're not moving anywhere far away anytime soon!?)

Happy family (excuse mommy's frizzy hair... darn rain...)

We have concluded that Wheaton's 4th of July parade is the LONGEST PARADE IN THE HISTORY OF PARADES, ever.  It started at 10am and finished a little after 12:30pm!  Of course, the parade began with every emergency vehicle in the vicinity blaring their sirens and honking their horns.  I usually love this part (no idea why), but it scared Robbie and he spent about 1o minutes pacing the next block over with Daddy until they were long gone.  He enjoyed the rest of the parade from Daddy's shoulders, but seemed most taken by the nearby stoplight that continually changed from green to yellow to red.  And he only poked Daddy's head with his flag a few times. :)

Parade enthusiasm...

The kids started to get tired of sitting still, so they stretched their legs by trying to walk. 

Robbie points to a dog he sees, while Riley continues to be her ridiculously cute self 100% of the time.

Rob playing 'Airplane' with Robbie.  I thought this was such a handsome picture of both of my boys!

Alas, even 2 1/2 hour parades have to end sometime.  

See you next year, Front and Main!

Once home, we had my parents, the Greens and Cheryl over for a birthday celebration!  My mom was born on the 4th.  We had an all-American lunch, feasting on Onion Burgers (my mom's amazing recipe), baked beans, potato salad, chips, watermelon, and salad.  I ate like I was still eating for 2.  Of course, we had to have birthday cake from (where else?) Cakes Plus!  

Isn't my mom the cutest!?

After lunch we let my mom open gifts and played in the family room for a while (still drizzling rain outside!).  By this time, the sugar rush from the slice of cake I let Robbie have had taken over his body.  The ball pit fun was taken to a whole new level...

Between Robbie's early bedtime, and observing his reaction to loud noises at the parade, we canned the idea of going to see fireworks in the evening.  And really, we were totally exhausted!

It was such a fun and memorable day, and I'm so thankful that I felt good enough to enjoy these activities with our family and friends.  We certainly missed my little sister Kels, who was fighting a virus and feeling rotten.  And my brother Collin, who is still in Oklahoma City training to become an Air Traffic Controller, was missing and things are never quite the same when he's not around either.  

We hope you had a fun and safe 4th!