Fourth of July

We had a great day yesterday filled with lots of fun and good friends. We headed to our John and Holly's house where their precious 9-year old daughter decorated Luke's bike for him in preparation for the parade. This is the most fabulous neighborhood tradition ever. Engine 9 from the firehouse arrives about five blocks from their house. All the kids in the neighborhood decorate their bikes and follow the fire engine around the block three times. Most of the parents walk along the sidewalk and there are some very sweet retirees sitting in lawn chairs also. Then the fire engine parks at a corner and sets up the best sprinkler EVER down one street while allowing the kids to shoot a hose down the other street to hit a traffic cone. Meanwhile there is the most amazing potluck going on. And free Popsicles. Luke rode in the parade this year. Paul shot the fire hose. They both had three Popsicles a piece. Wow.
After the amazingly long naps, we headed to Tim and Abby's house to enjoy their hospitality for the evening. Another sweet potluck. Thirteen children under the age of ten, ten adults, a Slip N Slide, sprinkler, kiddie pool and no trips to the emergency room. Awesome! The boys did extremely well, but we did end our evening around 8pm. I think Luke forgot all about the fireworks from last year, so he wasn't at all disappointed. The kids were asleep by 8:30pm and we followed suit pretty quickly. Long, fun day.

We were one of the first families to greet the fire fighters. Grandpa introduced Paul to this wonderful woman and she brought Paul up into the engine. He was a pretty happy guy. The hat is heavy, hence the somewhat apprehensive look on his face in this shot.

Luke is ready to ride in the parade.

And they're off!

The best sprinkler ever. The temperature was between 85 and 90 degrees by this time.

Same lady who brought Paul up into the engine helped him shoot the hose. He was one happy boy.