Happy 4th!

It it July 4th....Happy Birthday America....and we are actually home.  This is super exciting and way better than spending the holiday in a car.  For the first time since Emma was a baby we were able to participate in our neighborhood July 4th parade. 

When I asked Jonah if he wanted to be in the parade I got a huge and emphatic no.  When I asked Samuel and Elena if they wanted to be in the parade I got squeals of yes.  I did not bother to ask Emma (she went to a sleepover).  So, we decorated the bikes and helmets yesterday so we would be ready bright and early this morning. Even though Jonah refused to ride his bike we made him participate in the Scout part of the parade.  He was so mad at us, but being the good mom I am, I didn't much care.

Their very festive bikes

The parade was led by a fire truck and a rescue truck from the West Pool to the East Pool, which is about 0.6 miles.  It was not a fast parade, but still fun.  Thankfully it was a cool 75 this morning so it was a pleasant walk.

At the East Pool, there was the presentation of the US Flag, the Texas Flag, and the Scout flag.  It was very patriotic with the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance, singing the National Anthem, and then a prayer.  I am reminded how much I love living in the great state of Texas every time I am at a very public event and there is a time of prayer. 

There were lots of different games for the kids to play.  Elena was excited to see a bounce house.  Samuel was thrilled with just the playground.  But, the best part of all was the fire truck spraying the kids.  The fireman actually had everything all set up and then had to leave quickly for a call.  That was fun because of the sirens.  Maybe 20 minutes later the truck came back and the fun began.  Samuel was like a kid in a candy store playing in the water spray. 

Elena got cold...not sure how?

Before we left Samuel and Elena wanted to participate in the bike decorating contest.  Samuel won 2nd place for the boys and Elena won 3rd place for the girls. 

The morning was only made better by spending it with their friends Conner and Carmendy.  They are a patriotic group!

Carmendy, Emma, Elena, Jonah, Conner, Zachary, and Samuel...only missing Nicholas.

Our 2013 Summer Trip begins

Last Wednesday afternoon we headed out for our long drive to Waynesboro, VA. This was the first stop of many on our 5 week summer trip.  We planned a two day drive with a stopover in Jackson, Mississippi.  The kids are so used to being in the car for long drives that I don't stress about the journey too much.  

To prepare for 21+ hours in the car, I bought everyone a new book or two.  I got some Shrek Mad Libs and we did not even get to them.  I also surprised them with two new movies.  Movies are a total life saver in the car as are the DS's, iPad, and iPhones.  How I traveled without all those luxuries is a mystery to me!!  I also need to mention that Legos are a huge hit this summer in the car!

Off we go with bikes and all.  Our second day was July 4th which is a horrible day to be stuck in the car.  We missed all the fun celebrations of the day so I planned two things to make our day a little more festive.  First, we all (except me who packed incorrectly) all dressed the part.  Don't they all look very patriotic and cute!

The second thing I planned was ice cream for dinner.  I had healthy snacks and lunch packed for us to have.  Ice cream for dinner seemed like the best way to celebrate Independence Day and our drive.  This was also something on our Summer Bucket list.  The kids were super excited when we stopped at a Dairy Queen for dinner.  They know we don't eat the food there....just the ice cream.  We actually tried to find hometown kind of ice cream parlor, but we did not have any luck.  

So after almost 22 hours of driving through 7 states we arrived at Meemaw's house just after 9pm on July 4th.  We were lucky enough to see some fireworks in the distance, but that did not matter much anymore.  We had arrived safely and our fun weekend with cousins in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley was about to begin!