Fourth of July

It felt so good to have a day off for the Fourth. Sebastian is finally over his ear infection and slept a good full nights sleep- he only woke up once! I finally feel rested.

On the night of the third we went to the local fireworks, which were surprisingly good...although Julien buried his head in my lap and repeated over and over "I want to go to the van! It's too loud. I want to go home!" and then he would howl. He has not gotten over his fear of loud noises.

Each year on the Fourth we watch the local parade, which is always fun. One of our favorites each year is the "beanpole, god of pointless behavior" group which always does something silly. The kids were excited by the free flags and pin wheels.

Later in the day we set off a few mild fireworks of our own. Growing up in California, where the rules are much stricter, Richard had never bought and set off fireworks before. He was as excited as Julien. Our favorites are the bumble bees. They lift off the ground and hover while glowing blue or green and only make a buzzing sound. We set some off in the afternoon and then right before bed time, immediately before a storm, we went to the park to set off a few more fireworks. Julien was nervous about the storm and ended up hiding in the van, but two young boys came out to watch. At the end one of them handed Richard a handful of coins to thank him for the cool show, but Richard gave him back his money. We think they were hoping we would give them some sparklers.