Independence Day!

We had a very different, but great, 4th of July celebration this year! It used to be that every holiday Mike and I would make a roadtrip somewhere to be with family. This year we've stayed a little closer to home and we've really enjoyed it! We started yesterday with the neighborhood parade! This is the world's greatest neighbor, Marcy! She plans the parade every year, sends out flyers, and makes cookies and lemonade for everyone to enjoy afterward. Marcy has been so nice to our family since the day we moved it. We love her!
Andrew was a last minute participant, but I think he did a great job! You can't really see the red, white, and blue ribbons tied to the back of the stroller from this angle, or Andrew's straw that I also tied ribbons to (he loves straws right now), but they were very cute!Here are the parade walkers/bike riders! This is our neighborhood's seventh year doing this parade and we even made the news this year!

We came home and had a quick lunch then we were off to the pool with our friends, the Meikles. Unfortunately (or fortunately for your sake), I forgot our camera!

After swimming we napped Andrew and then met the neighbors in our commons area for a potluck BBQ, water balloon fight, and more fireworks than were probably legal!

Andrew was facinated with the water balloons! He carried one around as long as he possibly could. He squished it, bit it, and threw it. Finally, it sprung a leak when Mike was putting his pajamas on! Here are the neighborhood kids guarding the water balloons before Marcy gives the rules.
I thought this picture was hilarious! Mike was a good three feet taller than any other participant in the water balloon fight! Classic! I would have joined in, but I'm too easy of a target this year. Andrew had a great time with the whole day and especially enjoyed playing with is his friend Olivia.
Mike and I have never lived anywhere where big firework were legal, but we were amazed at what our neighbors were setting off! The basketball court became the "launch pad" and kids of all ages were going to town lighting fireworks.

We even had the big kind that shoot up in the air and explode! We had a great day and fell into bed exhausted! Unfortunately, I'm paying for keeping Andrew up so late. He was so cute and fun last night, but very grumpy today! What can we do, Independence Day only comes once a year! We hope everyone else enjoyed yesterday as much as we did!