First the kids missed the neighborhood parade, we slept right through it. As any good parent would, we foresaw the likelihood of our sleeping late and we purposely didn't tell the girls about the parade. If anyone tried to bring up the subject around Tess and Adelle we broke out in show tunes, thereby avoiding any possible disappointment. Quality parenting, what can I say.
when going to the pool seemed too taxing we whipped out the white-trash of water sports, the slip-n-slide.
we had two options for the fireworks...
#1 We could drive 10 miles to a free firework and symphony show. Then, because of parking, be forced to walk a mile with two tired-from-the-slip-n-slide-fest kids. Then stand in line for the over used up-johns at least 4 times due to watermelon consumption.
OR
#2 We could walk two houses down from us, sit on out neighbor's lawn chairs, eat our neighbor's watermelon and fresh picked blueberries, watch our girls play with our neighbor's sparklers, and enjoy the fireworks in peace while our girls sit on our neighbor's laps.
I'm sure you can guess what we did.
By the way, we have a new addition to the family. Above is our sweet 10 year old neighbor who is Tess and Adelle's new big sister. She has been staying with us every Tuesday this summer while her parents--who are some of my favorite people in the world--are at work. We've loved it!
At about 11 pm that night I realized I hadn't made or cooked anything for the 4th. I should have made an apple pie. Then I remembered, I had made cookies on Monday and that should count, although I was too lazy to attempt icing or sprinkles.
Even if my festive domesticity turned out more Napoleon Dynamite than Martha Stewart, the semi-festive cookies did get gobbled up and I even let Tom and the girls have some too.
