whobody starred and striped it up?

So...the 4th of July is a BIG holiday around our house. First of all...it is a summer holiday which makes it all the more fun.  :) That includes going on the river for Jason and I...but I probably won't blog about that.  The first thing that our family did this year to celebrate the 4th was attend the Guttenberg Stars and Stripes celebration. This is always held on the Saturday evening closest to the 4th.  They have a parade at 7 (not so hot out then) and then fireworks at dusk (or, this year, at pitch black).  We headed to Guttenberg right after supper so the kiddos could enjoy the 'rides' at the park before the parade. This pretty much just includes bouncy houses and the 'lawn mower train' pictured below.  The bouncy houses were AWESOME for Keaton and Lola...but Nash was too little to go in. Instead they had a little kids bouncy house. This was actually only about 5 foot square. Nash was NOT impressed. He was, however impressed with his ride in the 'lawn mower train'. 

 How nice of Keaton to let Nash drive.....

The second time the kids rode this ride, Nash refused...so Keaton got to ride alone.

(I don't think he minded.)

Next we got snacks and sat down to get ready for the parade. Below is a RARE picture of all 3 kids together...without anyone turned around or crying.  I'm not quite sure why they all have the same pained look on their faces....

 Keaton just eating popcorn, waiting for the parade to start....

 Lola eating a huge bite of a pickle while waiting for the parade to start....

 ...and Nash actually doing what he was supposed to be doing (which is rare)...waving at the people in the parade. He absolutely LOVED the parade.... he could yell at people and wave as much as he wanted and we didn't tell him to be quiet!!!  At this point he hadn't figured out the candy thing yet....

 And then, big brother Keaton did some coaching....then Nash figured out the 'candy thing' all too well.

 I'll leave you with Nash putting parade candy into his mouth. Yes. that is directly off the ground. and Yes. the wrapper is still on the candy. Yes. we spent the whole parade trying to keep him from doing this....Just in case you were wondering.

We ended the night with fireworks with the kids' new besties...John and Amy. We had a great spot on the dike and really had a wonderful time watching the fireworks. Lola was a very good sport...for as brave as she is, she hates loud noises and usually cannot handle fireworks. Thank goodness for those trusty earmuffs (and the distraction that Amy provided....). Happy 4th (only 3 weeks late)!