4th Parade

I moved up my Thursday morning workout to an ungodly 7am so I could accompany my family to the neighborhood parade to celebrate the 4th. It's cute and the whole neighborhood turns out. And as a bonus it was only in the high 80's this particular morning. Vivian put on a rather warm dress and her cowboy boots. We gathered her scooter and Evan's bike and wandered over to Ramsey Park with Ava and Tim. And we quickly ran into Eleanor and Co.

The kids decorated their bikes and ate watermelon while the crowd gathered and swelled. Then there was the recitation of the Pledge and the singing of the national anthem. Vivian and Evan looked around uncertainly but they stayed with it. For my non-American friends, in the US, every school day starts with every school child in every public school reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Seriously. And in Texas they confusingly and ironically pledge allegiance to two different flags - the Texas and the American - one after the other.

Then the parade began. The kids wheeled, rode and walked their bikes and scooters around the park. The crowd gathered for the water balloon toss - which resulted in the kids getting drenched but that helped them cool off a bit. Then we wandered from stall to stall in the carnival area where the kids won assorted prizes - mostly blobs of red, white and blue pastic stuff made in China. And finally Jo took all the unspent coupons and traded them for baked goods. That's the last photo. Evan and Ava eating cup cakes - Evan's had enough of the heat and the crowds and the cup cake and my camera.

We finished and while there was some grumbling in the ranks, we got home and started getting ready for the second part of the 4th. Trip to Grandma's.