4th Fun!

We had a fabulous 4th!  That morning we attended the parade in Carmel.  (There's a huge all-day Carmelfest with activities, food, and entertainment afterwards but we had other plans.)  We didn't have any chairs so we found a spot right on a median that was easy to get to and leave early.  We'd never taken Eli to a parade before, and he was sure a fan!  I told him beforehand that he'd get candy and see firetrucks, so what could be better than that?  : )  We got to the parade about 10 minutes before it started and stayed about an hour.  (Half as long as it lasted.)  That was the perfect amount of time, as we'd seen plenty and it started getting too hot in the sun.

The paraders passed out cardboard fans for people to use.  Eli loved clapping his against mine.  : )







So excited for the firetrucks!  His other favorite thing to see was the golf carts.  Several people rode by in golf carts and he excitedly exclaimed, "Ooo!  They're going golfing!"  : )





A little bit before we headed out, Eli tripped and fell and scraped up his thumb.  I gave him a tissue to keep over the scrape to stop the bleeding.  He sat and held that tissue and was so focused on it.  For the rest of the day his right hand was disabled because of that small boo-boo.  He wouldn't use it at all!  It took another week before he finally started saying that his boo-boo was getting better. Silly boy!

After the parade we drove to David's parent's house for the rest of the day.  It was really nice and cooler outside, so we spent a lot of time in their yard.  David and I were riding the see-saw when Eli thought he'd like a turn, too!

Chillin' in the pool.  : )

We then spent Saturday the 6th with my family to celebrate my sister Rebecca's birthday, as well as the 4th. After eating a yummy dinner AND delicious homemade ice cream, we went out the backyard where Uncle Kyhle put on a fireworks display!  We've never taken Eli to see fireworks, and this was also the first time we've done them ourselves around him.  He and Kyhle started out doing small popping fireworks that let out a bunch of string.  Eli got a big kick out of them.

Then Kyhle did a variety of fountains, noisemakers, etc.  Eli was fine as long as he stayed up on the deck with me.  He had the biggest smile on his face while watching the fireworks, and never wanted them to end!  I'm so happy we decided to have a fireworks show so he could experience the magic of them!

Eli's silly "cheese" face--

When we were about ready to go home, we ended the night with a few sparklers.  I love how Eli looks like he's about to cast a spell with his "wand."  : )  

We're so grateful for our many freedoms, and for our faith, friends, and family.  We couldn't have asked for a better 4th!