I Love a Parade!

After staying up rather late to make my little independent girl a little Independence Day dress, I thought I was having visions of delirium when the festively decorated wagons, bikes and scooters began making their way up our street to the schoolyard. After making some inquiries, we learned that there is an annual 4th of July kids parade which winds its way through our sweet tree-lined neighborhood. How did I miss that memo? I'm not one to miss out on the fun, even while suffering from very little sleep. So in the 15 minutes we had until the parade began we threw together our vehicles and joined the fray.

It was sweet beyond words. And while I know we don't live in Beverly Cleary's actual neighborhood, it felt like something straight out of a Ramona book. More fun photos here.

And as the sun set, that same schoolyard became a meeting place of a different kind. People came from all around hauling boxes and bags loaded with fireworks. Each one may as well have been marked with "TNT" on the side, so cartoonish was the way the roman candles, bottlerockets and mortars protruded from their containers. The neighborhood was rattled by continual explosions, the sky thick with smoke, raining showers of sparks. A little more edgy, but equally fun!


And speaking of fireworks...Happy Anniversary honey!! It's been nine incredible years of wedded wonder (14 since we first became a couple!) and the colorful explosions of sparkling beauty that I first felt when I met you, continue to fill my heart every day. I love you!