The festivities really started last week. Our township had their community day with all sorts of activities going on. We passed on the daytime stuff due to the heat and crowds but I told the kids we might be able to see the fireworks from our house since they were going off from a park nearby. They were pumped up, in their jammies and ready to see the action at 9:30 (staying up an hour past bedtime was a treat too). We heard them going off, but there was a row of trees blocking our line of sight. I didn't want them to miss out so I quickly loaded them into the car to drive to a closer spot. Dayven stayed behind with Tate, who was already in bed. There was something so exciting and rebellious about driving through down, with the windows and sunroof open, barefoot in our PJs with wet heads from the bath. We finally came up over the hill and saw them all bright in the sky, right above us. I pulled over to the side of the road and the kids got out of their buckles and watched out the window. It was magical and they screamed with joy, yelling "This is SO awesome!! This is the best day of my life!!" They have such enthusiasm. I love seeing "firsts" through their eyes.
Their were a bunch of neighborhood fireworks going off on July 3 right in our neighborhood. They were so impressive, they rivaled the city display of the place where I grew up. Someone told us people drive to Ohio to buy them, where their laws are a bit more relaxed. The display was amazing so we knew there would be something really good on the actual holiday.
On the 4th, we started our day at the Canonsburg 4th of July Parade. It's a huge tradition in the area and people set up their chairs days in advance to get a good seat. We just showed up that morning and were able to squeeze our way up front (the benefits of a double stroller). The parade itself was just a parade, but it was over 2 hours long, which was pretty amazing in itself. They had the usual marching bands, gymnasts, etc. My personal favorite was the giant walking Fez and the 90 year old man karoake singing the Commodores "Night Shift". Wyatt was dancing up a storm to all the music. Each car or float that went by through an insane amount of candy and the kids were in heaven. We scored bigger than Halloween!
We headed back to our house to fill up the baby pool and set up the slip and slide. Dayven also wanted to get a start on the ribs he was smoking on his new cooker. It was so hot and humid, it felt great to cool off a bit. The kids played outside all afternoon while we relaxed on the deck, listening to country music. We rode scooters and the kids new dune buggy for a while out front and tried out some sparklers. For dinner, we nibbled on chips/salsa, ribs, potato salad, fruit salad and "fireworks cookies" for dessert. I made my first mojito of the season with the mint I've been growing.
Tate finally gave in and went to bed about 7:30. The big kids were determined not to miss the show so there was no way they were going to bed. They started firing them off about 9pm and we watched from our deck. The sky was really dark with a lot of thunder and lightening, but that didn't stop them. We ducked inside and watched through the window for a few minutes while the heavy rain passed and then it cleared up and they were at it again. There were at least 3 different large displays going on all around us. Dayven joked it was like being in Bagdad, there were so many loud noises and booms going off. Maybe every city is like this and we're just out of touch being out of the US for so long, but Pittsburgh really impressed us with their patriotric displays. The kids loved every minute of it and only covered their ears a couple of times. The neighbors invited us down to their yard to make s'mores on their new fire pit and watch the rest of the show. The kids couldn't believe they were up so late and Hadley was in sugar heaven with her s'mores. We took the world's fastest showers and fell into bed at 11pm. It was a great night!
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| Our little Canadians had to celebrate their special day too! |
1 comment:
Your family did have a busy 4th. I had a good laugh watching the slip/slide. Especially when Wyatt tried to walk down it!Hadley has so much energy, she is so cute. We went gambling for 4 hours on the 4th and had a quiet evening on the front porch, watching the neighbors fireworks.
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