What a blast!

Whooooo! I'm still recovering from this past holiday weekend. I LOVE 4th of July where I live. The 3-day carnival at the lake (just half a block from my house) with good food, fun games, neat little flea market booths, and lots and lots of people decked out in red, white, and blue. On top of that the town parade, pancake breakfast at the church, and of course, FIREWORKS!!!

And, and, AND!!! My little guy turning 4. The cherry on top of the ice cream sundae that is 4th of July.

Friday morning the kids woke up screaming "It's carnival day! It's carnival day!" They'd seen the sign and the preperations the Parks and Rec. department had been making all week and had been counting down eagerly to the "big party". We hit the petting zoo (they had an alpaca this year, and some baby bunnies), the big inflatable toys, and the little shops. We had nachoes and smoothies and kettle corn for lunch. They played at the park and we listened to the live music. Dinner was more of the same (albeit different food).

Saturday morning was the pancake breakfast at church and the city parade. We returned to our regular viewing spot infront of the post office near the beginning of the parade route (last year we watched from near the end of the parade route, and it just wasn't as much fun. there's an MC at the beginning of the parade to tell you exactly who's going by). Just me, Raia, and Errol watched it while George and Patrick went to the lake. (George doesn't really like parades) The kids got lots and lots and lots of candy and had a ball. Then it was back home to drop off their loot, then back to the parade to watch the cardboard boat regatta. Hil.ar.i.ous! They just added this event to the carnival last year, and it is a HOOT! The teams get so creative with their cardboard boats (pirate ships, viking ships, rubber duckies, a banana slug...) and of course the best part is when someone sinks. :op We ate lunch while we watched (polish hot dogs for me and George, a regular hot dog for Errol, and spaghetti for Raia). Patrick and I left early, since it was his nap time, then we were all home in the late afternoon for a rest before me and the older kids went back for dinner. I got some delicious hawaiian short ribs for myself, plus some to take back to George, while the kids got corndogs. And more kettle corn.

Sunday we had cake for Errol's birthday, complete with candles, and he got to open his presents from us (a dinosaur puzzle and a Buzz and Woody slip'n'slide) and his grandparents (new PJ's, some dinosaur books and a new Thomas train). Raia even got him a stegasaurus! Then we were good little Mormons and went to church first ;) before going back to the lake to mark our spot for the fireworks. We stayed on our big blanket on the hillside for most of the afternoon, eating chips and salsa and carrot sticks and wheat thin crackers (and cheerios for Patrick). George and I took turns walking through the flea market area with the kids, and watching them run up and down the hill with the kids from the neighboring blankets that they quickly made friends with. Errol fell asleep about an hour before the fireworks, but we managed to wake him up in time, although he fell *back* to sleep before they were over. Patrick fell asleep right in the middle of the show, even with all the bangs and booms ringing through the air. He didn't wake up until well after we'd gotten home and gone to bed!

Yesturday we went to the zoo as our special Birthday Celebration for Errol. We always try to take the kids to the zoo sometime close to their birthday and let them pick something out from the giftshop. Errol picked out some toy whales this time. We also went to the visiting Dinosaur exhibit they have for the summer with animatronic dinosaurs. Errol was super excited to get to see them... until he saw them. They're much MUCH bigger than his toys. And they moved. And roared. And spit water. He was brave though, and watched them all safely from behind his daddy.

So after all that we were understandably POOPED when we finally got home, and now today we're back to our daily routine. The kids are playing with the slip'n'slide and eating the remains of their parade candy, and I'm trying to get caught up on the laundry that I've let sit since Thursday. But it was an awesome weekend. :)