The Second and Third of July

What a weekend! In true fashion, we celebrated this holiday for three full days. Our little town is pretty fantastic, and for the past, like, 829 years there has been a community gathering on the front lawn of the Cultural Center. People set up tables and everyone brings a pot-luck style dish and there is a patriotic band and and and... it's just super fun. There are kids running around everywhere and the local politicians are out soliciting votes. It just doesn't get more small town than this. (LM hanging in DM's grandfather's Model A. We traveled in this car for three days straight. The kids think it's ours to keep forever.) BigM wanted to ride with her BFF (LE) to the picnic so her older brother hitched a ride with us. (Everyone, LM included, thinks this is BigM- but it's definitely LE.)
(This, of course, is BigM.)

After the picnic, the girls and I crammed in the rumble seat and DM and T rode in the front. We headed to the Elementary School parking lot for the city fireworks display- the girls loved watching the fireworks and BigM timidly (wisely?) shied away from the sparklers LE and T's mom brought, but our little daredevil wanted to hold one and she is now sporting a pretty big burn on her hand. She has been showing off her battle wound for days now, thrusting her hand in people's faces saying, "Farkleler hur me, see? Farkeler hur me." That kid knows how to milk an injury, but then again it's a pretty bad burn. (Don't worry, Be-bops, she's healing quite nicely. Her daddy is a doctor.)

Bright and early Saturday morning (literally, I was at Wal-mart at 6:15am) we got bikes and strollers decorated for the first annual VF Independence Bike Parade. Our neighborhood knows how to do it up right. Kiddos, parents and grandparents decorated their various modes of transportation- (BigM's and LE's bikes)

(BigM and LE on said bikes)

with DM leading the parage in the Model A and the kids and walkers trailing behind. Lucky LM got to ride.

(The parade was scheduled to loop the neighborhood twice, but when I say trailing behind, I truly mean that BigM made a valiant effort peddling that lil trike around, but by the time I had pushed the trike and the stroller up the hill simultaneously, I personally declared the parade over, which actually worked out well because the others had already been around three times.)

We ended up at the Farmhouse for neighborhood lunch and swimming. We didn't do much else but eat and swim.

I finally took LM home for a much needed nap, and DM stayed at the pool with BigM. We kept it low-key for the rest of the afternoon and evening because we were gearing up for the Super-Awesome-Fourth-of-July-slash-Aunt-Train's-Fantastic-Birthday-slash-Going-Away-Bash. And a party like that deserves its' own post. So stay tuned.