HB 4th of July

June flew by and was nearly missed, except for the fact that my family came in to town for a nice visit and Josh and I celebrated 9 years of marital bliss. :o) It was wonderful having my mom and brother and sister here!! We did a whole lot of nothing for the most part, and it was great. When you don't get to spend much time together, who wants to fill each day with stressful activities and going here and there? Not me!

One event I was so excited to share with them was our family 4th of July celebration. The last time my mom and siblings took part in an Independence Day celebration out here was about 11 years ago, and I know there's no way my brother or sister would remember that one!

Every year on the 4th, our family gathers in hometown HB for the best parade. The men snag us a place on the parade route to set up camp, and we get awesome seats for viewing the festivities. This year, we kind of missed the whole thing! It was a small sacrifice, though, since we knew we'd spend the whole day down there sans naptime and I was reluctant to wake sleeping children to leave early. We did walk the end of the parade route and see the last 10 minutes or so. Just being absorbed in the crowd of patriots does a body a whole lot of good and serves well to amp the spirit!

Following the parade we enjoy tons of food at Grandma Shirley's home and watch the revelers as they pass by outside. It's an amazing time of visiting with family members and friends that we don't see often or often enough. I had the little ones decked out in patriotic colors, and my daughter really got into the party spirit and began to, um, un-deck herself. Let's just say that any top or dress with spaghetti straps is now on the "no" list. As my witty sister later put it to me, my daughter's favorite activities are singing, dancing, and taking off her clothes...boy are we in trouble!



Both kiddos proceeded to share some patriotic fun by way of red cupcake frosting...the kind that dyes your fingers and makes you wonder how many soapy scrubs it will take to remove it all. (Thanks, Kim B.!! ;o) ) Moo did pretty well, but that may be because Mommy wore all of the frosting Moo didn't get into her gullet. Can anyone explain why it takes forever to wash the dye off of your skin, yet a little rub from a baby wipe will take it out of cotton clothing almost immediately? Go figure... Dman fought a brave battle against the sugary explosion, but in the end I'm not sure who won...the cupcake, most likely!



After lunch the majority of the clan moved up the street to the middle school field for a game of blooper ball--softball with a ball that is kind of screwy, hard to hit, and catchable without gloves. We enjoyed the gorgeous beach weather and watched all the fun, though Moo got upset when her daddy would run by 3rd base on his way home and not come see her, lol. We knew the little critters were tired, so my mom and sister joined me in valiantly herding the kids to Grandma & Grandpa's house for a nap. It was a difficult battle for me (Moo isn't used to sleeping anywhere but her crib), but in the end everyone managed some kind of rest.

We later trouped down to the beach to watch the fireworks show. Years ago residents had to buy tickets to see the show as it was put on in the high school stadium. Those of us who were too cheap and lazy to buy tickets walked down towards the school and gathered on sidewalks and grassy areas to watch for free. It was really more fun that way! Now the city shoots the fireworks off the pier and hoards can gather for free up and down the beach to watch. They even shut down PCH near the pier knowing that so many pedestrians are crossing (um, jaywalking) to get a spot for the show. It's awesome! The kids really enjoyed watching and weren't at all afraid of the noise or the crowd.




After walking back to Grandma Shirley's and enjoying some of Grandma Ellen's homemade ice cream, we visited some more with family and then headed home. It was a long day, but it sure is worth it to make the venture each year! I would love to be able to share in more celebrations with my family here, so we'll just wait and see what the future holds!