Happy Fourth of July

We had a crazy Independence Day. Our first event was a kid-parade and picnic with some good friends in their neighborhood. We actually arrived after the kid parade, but that was okay. I'm not sure Luke would have participated anyway. But the main attraction was the fire truck! Every year, provided they aren't inundated with calls, Engine #9 arrives at 11am to the delight of all. They spray one fire hose onto the street for folks to run under and allow kids to use the other to try to knock over a traffic cone. So cool! Luke LOVES fire engines, but this was a huge piece of machinery making a fair amount of noise. It took him quite awhile to warm up to it, and he never did manage to try the hose for himself, but a great time was had by all. There was also a fabulous potluck. Yummy.

Luke and Daddy checking out Engine #9 together.

Oma and Paul enjoying the show.

Later in the afternoon, Oma and I made a trip to the ER together. She was experiencing some pretty severe abdominal pain and I just wanted to get it checked out. My sister, the nurse, (who will be reading this) will be proud of me. Mom was released with a clean bill of health and some Vicadin. She actually felt much better after just resting in the ER for awhile. She will see her doctor when she heads home. I was just thrilled to rule out all the scary stuff it could have been! She was a real trooper.

After that we headed back to our friends' house and enjoyed dinner and a few early fireworks. This was Luke's first experience with anything like this and I was surprised by his reaction. He thought it was very cool. Part of this might have been the five other children there who were intensely jazzed. He jumped right on board that train. We were headed home by 7:30 pm, but the whole way there Luke recounted to Oma how he was going to have fireworks again sometime. It all starts here.

Ready for the show!

Watching the show. It should be noted that "The Show" consisted of about five Ground Blooms and one of the chickens that shoots sparks. Luke and Paul were both VERY impressed. We figured we would start small and work our way up.

Speaking of which, it is almost 9:30 pm here and things are starting to get loud out there. It's time for the earplugs and my pillow. I'm such a party girl! Happy 4th, Everyone!