Happy Birthday 'Murica!

Happy 4th of July!!  Rory asked why we were going to a parade, so I explained that it was America's birthday.  The rest of the day he kept saying and singing, "Happy Birthday 'Murica!" 

For me, the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays--it's warm, the air is happy, picnics and parties are everywhere and the night is capped off with fireworks!  And who doesn't love a good parade?  It did however, rain on our parade...literally!  We are thankful that it didn't storm--just a light rain and it did not mess up our fun!  Rory said the favorite part of the parade was the drums--we saw 3 marching bands plus a few dance groups.

This is our second time at this parade and we learned last year to take a bag--Rory swept up on the goodies.  We have a whole bag full of candy!  He was very excited that people were bringing him "treats."

After the parade, we invited our friends over to watch fireworks.  Our yard backs up to a lake and our neighbors had given us a heads up that the residents across the lake spend a lot of money on fireworks every year.  Our City also puts on a great show at  park down the street.   We had a great view from our backyard.  We had a great show and didn't have to worry about parking, snacks or a bathroom close by!

I bought one pack of sparklers this year--I wasn't sure how that would work with toddlers--we had a total of 6 at our house!  Overall, it went very well--Rory was not afraid at all and everyone had a great time.  We had one burn but as of today I've heard that she is doing fine.  We had a paramedic and 2 nurses on site!

I do remember saying the following, of which, I never thought would come out of my mouth...ever:

1. Don't put the sparkler in her hair!

2. Don't put the sparkler on the house!

AND...

3. Don't put the sparkler up your nose! (This was after it had burned down)

We hope you had a Happy July 4th!