Happy Independence Day!

Fourth of July was wonderfully fun this year, as Sadie is now big enough to really enjoy all the candy thrown from fire trucks, loud music, and of course the horses in the big Friendswood 4th of July Parade! It is one of the longest running parades in Texas or the U.S. - really doesn't matter which I suppose, but it is fantastic no matter long ago it originated. This year was the second year we camped out by the Sonic - PRIME location next to icy beverages and bathrooms, two very necessary commodities on a hot summer day. To start the day off right, Granddaddy bought a little plastic white tiger for her from a man selling blow-up animals and super heroes. She loved it. With every hug, it let out a tiny high-high pitched squeak and this completely delighted Sadie. 

She showed "Tiger" all of the horses and fancy cars driving by in the parade: "YOOOK! TIGER!!! THERE'S A PONY!!!!!" We also had a mini-photo shoot in front of Sonic's greenery. She oozed with patriotic sass in her red star sunglasses from Leslie with matching blue and white start top. She even gave us a little model pose with her hands on her hips. Can we say H.A.M.? ;)

I loved our pictures together. Gammy always yells for everyone to, "Quick! Hurry up and take a picture before you start to melt!" We always moan and complain, but looking back, are so satisfied to have pictures where sweat has not overtaken our faces and hindered our eyesight. Just look at those youthful smiles all aglow!

Another big attraction for Sadie was an amazingly tiny kitten. I don't have a clue how old that kitten was, but it seemed way too young to be out and about fraternizing with small children. However, I did not complain as my daughter was over-the-moon enamored with it. She pet it very gently, then showed us all, exclaiming, "Yoook! (Look) Mommy! It's a baby kitty!" I suppose in another year the next question would be, "Can I have one?" :o)

Before the parade started, Granddaddy found a nice and shady spot on the sidewalk and shared his ice with Sadie. Crunching ice has been one of their favorite shared pastimes since she cut her first tooth. Far before I even knew if she was really old enough, she chomped away with both Daddy and Granddaddy. What strong teeth you have, Sadie!

Uncle Austin and Aunt Katie joined us this year for the festivities and we really enjoyed them being with us. Katie brought a tasty treat - chocolate chip peanut butter energy bites! We have been making them ever since in our house now due to this first 4th of July introduction which left us smitten and hungry for more.

Sadie loved all parts of the parade, but perhaps her favorite participants were as follows:
1) Anyone who threw candy
2) Horses (Pooping or not pooping. She cared not.)
3) Fire trucks (although she did tell us it was "too louder!" (too loud))
4) The FHS band
5) Any dance team or cheerleader group who tumbled...or danced

Aunt Leslie made it to the parade only a few entries in, and we were thrilled she was able to come! Sadie was extra-excited that one of her playmates came to the patriotic party. One of the funniest events of the parade, however, was Sadie recognizing both "Su Su's car" and "Poppy's car" as a Thunderbird and red Smart car each drove in front of her view. She was thrilled! "WOW! LOOK! It's Su Su's CAR!" Su Su and Poppy were delighted to know that she was thinking of them as they were in Ft. Worth spending some time with Auntie Jordan and Uncle Ryan. 

We did have one little ant bite. You can see Sadie is still sporting a happy face as she scratches away at the post-bellum mark of that tiny insect adversary.

After the parade, the custom is to head over to Stephenson Park for food, fun, and games with the rest of Friendswood. Uncle Austin was a great help in sharing the Sadie load so her little legs could make the jaunt over. She loves when Uncle Austin carries her because she always feels "SO TALL!"

There were games, bounce houses, and lemonade to be enjoyed and we had a blast enjoying being outside, even if it was blazing! Sadie especially liked the bouncy house, but was not sure about jumping with wild abandonment. She is a bit more reserved in her bouncing, somehow having an intuition that reckless bouncing could lead to a giant "bo-bo." I am thankful as it makes watching her in a bounce house a little more relaxing and enjoyable, knowing I am not about to watch my daughter be bounced into a giant 5 year old nearby. :)

After bouncing, we took to the train! Sadie was very excited about riding and wanted everyone to ride with her, but you had to pay per person! So, we decided Mommy riding would be OK. Sadie sported Mommy's shades at first to keep the sun out of her eyes before we started our journey through the trees of the park. She waved frantically to Aunt Leslie and Gammy as she passed them several times shouting, "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Hiiiiiiii Yezyeeeee (Leslie) Hiiiii Gammy! Look at me!!!!"

We also enjoyed simply sitting with each other and laughing at blowing our little train whistles and watching Sadie take shoulder rides with Uncle Austin. Some of my absolute favorite pictures of the day were of him and Sadie smiling together.

When we returned home, we were quickly greeted by all Sadie's cousins! Hooray! Grace and Trey brought the girls (now almost 6, 5, and 2 with birthdays approaching in the fall) down for the festivities and to hang out afterwards. Sadie was thrilled to have her cousins come visit her. Uncle Steve also came over, enjoying James' new swing from his birthday with Granddaddy and sweet Kate.

While Sadie painted, Rachel helped me decorate the cupcakes. We made flag cupcakes with pull-apart Twizzlers for the red and blueberries for the blue / white star section! Rachel was a culinary master helper!

And what holiday wouldn't be complete without Uncle Steve strumming a newly-fashioned banjo he had just finished! So much musical and artistic talent in the family!

After playing for a little while, Jame, Gammy, Granddaddy, and myself retreated to the church because I was slated to play in the 4th of July concert at UBC. Grant and Jill showed up to have some fun as well, and they stayed and played with everyone, making corn salsa and enjoying chips and dip, while I tooted the flute for Uncle Sam. Afterward, we boarded the school buses leaving from the FHS parking lot and headed to Centennial Park for the evening firework display! Sadie was very excited to ride on a school bus and thought not having to be buckled into a car seat was fantastic. I kept thinking she must have been screaming inside the words of William Wallace in Bravehart, "FREEEEDOM!"

We always love the evening festivities at Centennial Park. How do you not love kettle corn, live music, and toddlers dancing about? We were also very happy to see our dear friends, the Hillenburgs! Austin and Sadie traded mommies for a quick dance session and both James and Russ were able to visit for a bit before Austin had to head off to bedtime! As for our little firecracker, she still had hours of boundless energy left to dance out on the grassy knoll!

Grace and I had a ball watching the girls interact with one another as well as making new friends. We are always amazed at how easily kids can make new friends. They don't think of class, race, gender. They just want to play. How we can learn from them! They just walk up to someone and say, "Wanna dance with me?" and usually the response is, "YES!" Either that or "Let me ask my Mommy," then, "YES!" How I love the heart of children. They skipped and hopped about playing a rather physical game of ring around the rosy as we all watched them. Holidays have become so much more experience them through the eyes of children. One of our favorite dances of the night was watching Aunt Leslie lead the Conga line with all the kids in tow.

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Another sweet treat was from Aunt Leslie. She surprised me with some TCBY frozen yogurt! What a delight on such a hot summer evening! Sadie shared in my ice cream and we continued to listen to all the wonderful hits played by the band. The fireworks were beautiful and Sadie enjoyed them for about 10 minutes then promptly informed me, "I'm tired. I want to go to bed!" She worked on not melting for the remainder of the firework display then we boarded the buses as quickly as possible for the ride back to the FHS parking lot. What a wonderful evening with all our cousins!