What a nice, albeit HOT, weekend. Sigh. I wish that it didn't have to end, like, ever.
July 3rd was spent visiting a park so we could take a "hike". I have to put "hike" in parentheses because our definition of a hike has had to be altered to appease our almost three year old. No longer do we hike on trail systems to scenic overlooks or mountain tops. Our "hikes" now have to be three things: flat, short and end at either a beach or a playground.
So, this trip was a dream come true for Katie. We started at a beach, took a "hike" to a playground and then turned around and "hiked" back to the beach again.
I have to say, at 36 weeks along, I like the new definition of "hike". It was just enough for me, thank you very much.
Taking a break for snacks on our "hike".
Destination: Playground.
We once again walked in the Children's Parade portion of our local Fourth of July parade.
We live about two miles away from the parade start and for the past two years have walked down and back. This year was to be no different. That is, until we started walking.
I think we made it about a quarter of a mile before I started to get out of breath and sweat profusely. It was hot and was only going to get hotter as the day went on. I looked at Huzbend and he looked at me. "This is stupid...." he said and then he ran back and got the truck. Do you know that he wasn't even sweaty when he pulled up to pick us up. What the hell? Is he human?
I picked up some some Dum-Dum lollipops to throw out to the little kids on the side of the road during the parade. It seems that a little someone had other ideas about what should be done with the candy......
Freedom = The Right To Enjoy A Cotton Candy Flavored Lollipop
Okay, so Katie didn't walk the parade route this year. I did.
She got off easy this year and bagged a ride
aboard her friend Logan's sweet ridin' wagon.
After the Children's Parade the REAL parade began. We sat to watch as Huzbend forced water down my throat to make sure I stayed hydrated. There were the requisite fancy cars, police motorcycles, corny floats, and fire trucks. Katie, once again, did not enjoy the noise of the sirens.
"When a loud noise comes, then you can cover your ears."
And then something horrible happened.
The Revolutionary soldiers marched up and stopped right in front of us. They decided to battle the Brits marching ahead of them. Muskets exploded and Katie absolutely freaked out. Even though both she and Huzbend were covering her ears she began to scream uncontrollably like SHE was being shot with the muskets. It was awful.
It took quite a bit to calm her down after that and we decided to make an exit before the SeaFair Pirates and their huge-ass exploding cannon came down the road.
During our escape, we dropped Katie's little American flag somewhere along the way and realizing it was gone she flipped out and cried all the way to the truck. Ugh.
Needless to say, we decided against attending a fireworks display. I felt horrible guilty about it. She's three and has never seen a fireworks display. What kind of horrible Mom am I? Was I sheltering her too much? Was I denying her something?
Then, the fireworks started to explode outside her window. Class C fireworks are legal in our city, which means at dusk the sky goes wild. Katie watched the fireworks and was SO excited about them. She was jumping up and down and saying things such as, "Oooooooooo, did you see that one? That one was purple!".
She even wanted to show the fireworks her feet for some reason. Weird. I know.
"Firecrackers go bang, bang, bang!"
I felt even worse seeing her so excited. Then, I realized, that her window was closed. I asked her if I could open it so she could hear the fireworks explode. She agreed. As soon as I opened the window, she put her hands over her ears. After a few minutes, she asked me to shut the window as the fireworks, "were too loud and I think that if they are too loud that I might cry."
Maybe next year we can try a big fireworks show. We'll just have to invest in a nice pair of ear plugs or noise-deadening ear phones.
