Small Town Celebration

Happy Independence Day!

We had a few choices today as to how we would celebrate the 4th of July.  Most of my family is gathered at my parents' house for the traditional swim and grill celebration.  But being new to town we wanted to stick close to home and see how our small town threw a party.  

I love living where I do.  If I have not said it before, each week I am in this town I fall more and more in love with it.  I love the small community feeling.  Walking up to Main Street today and seeing our neighbors a few chairs down.  Seeing the older gentleman next to us yelling snide comments to the older men in the parade - I'm sure they are all part of the same "good ol' boys" club.  I love the mom and pop burger joint that uses only local ingredients.  We are enchanted by the family hardware store that is preparing to celebrate it's 100th anniversary in this town...in the same family.  The whole town speaks of family of closeness of loyalty and pride.  So add some patriotic sentiment to the already deeply rooted community and you have a full on celebration!

Papa Dan waiting for the festivities to start.  He's decked out in his patriotic hat!

 Kate made sure some of her special friends were dressed up and in good view of the show.

 Nathan had the best seat in the house thanks to Daddy! 

Can anyone guess what Nathan's favorite part of the parade was?  That's right the FIRETRUCKS!  And boy were there a lot of emergency vehicles.  The parade was actually named the Fireman's 4th of July Parade.  Trucks from a least four other towns in addition to ours were present.  And Nathan couldn't have been happier!  Seeing all the firetrucks, one after another, I couldn't help but reflect of the families in Prescott, Arizona, who are grieving the loss of their family and community.  So many people risk their lives so we can be safe and live peacefully and be free.  Thank you!

 Now Kate's favorite part was the horses on parade.  There were at least three or four different horse farms that participated.  There was also an Irish dance studio from Leesburg that made a little appearance.  Kate loved that too, and she immediately went into dance mode!

 I love this shot of the two kids holding hands.  

Proof that there are rare moments when they do not fight!

 There were so many interesting "floats" and vehicles.  But this wagon pulled by for draft horses was quite impressive.   The older rescue vehicles were pretty special too.

We hope you stay safe tonight.  And amidst the BBQ, corn on the cob, drinks, fireworks and parades we remember what a blessing it is to live in the United States of America.  Thank you to so many of you who serve our country and risk your lives so we can be free.  We are indebted.  For indeed: May we never forget that freedom is not free.

Saturday with Friends

My dear friend, Holly, was in town this past week visiting from Long Island, NY.  She came last weekend to see the new house and it was a loud, crazy afternoon as her four children and my two children ransacked the house and raised the roof with all the yelling. (Sorry Josh and Papa Dan!)  But since we don't see them that often it was worth any headache that came from the commotion.  Later in the week, Holly and I took in a late movie after we got kids into bed, and another night she came back to help me unpack my scrapbook room and set it all up!  (Love her for doing that!!)

So this Saturday we decided to get together one more time before she left for New York.  We opted to pack the morning with activity to avoid the mass destruction that occured weekend prior.  

We started our morning with a visit to the local farmer's market!  This was the 1st time I had been to the town's farmer's market since moving here.  It was nice and small, but it had a lot of variety. We bought some juicy cherries (Kate's pick), some garlic pickles for Papa Dan, some string beans, freshly made fettuccine and fresh bread.  I love local markets like this!  Oh, and we also grabbed a few chocolate chip cookies for road! (Nathan's pick.)

 Then we took the kids over to a neighboring town's park.  It was a perfect place to burn off a bundle of energy.  Kate loved the zip line and the swings.  Mia and Joel played on the slides.  Nathan adores the gravel box full of dump trucks.  Gabe was content eating grass and hanging on to his mama.  And Andrew, well he just chased the kids around the park and added to the fun!  (Andrew seemed to avoid the camera...so I don't have any shots of him...sorry, Holly.)

 Holly and Gabe!

 (Notice the matching dresses that Aunt Holly pick out for the girls!)

 After the park, everyone was hot and hungry.  So we had a picnic lunch on our front porch.  (I love my front porch!)  And then the kids played in our kiddie pool for a while.  There were lots of splashing and squeals of delight. 

We were sad to see everyone leave.  But we were so glad we got to see them so many times this past week.  Now if we could just get Uncle Neil to transfer his job to Virginia, life would be sweet!!

A Last Taste of Summer

It was my birthday on Thursday, so Josh took me and the kids and Papa Dan out for a nice lunch and a little sunshine.   I really enjoyed the time with the family.  

We took the kids on the swan boats at the Rio.  Kate LOVES the paddle boats.  Nathan, not so much.

A Day at the Fair

The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair was in town on Kate's actual birthday! Josh took the morning off of work, Peggy agreed to watch Nathan, and Mommy, Daddy, and Kate headed off to the fair. What better way to spend a birthday! It was more fun than any of us anticipated (and a lot hotter than we were prepared for).

The first exciting thing was that the shuttle bus to the fairgrounds was a school bus! Kate has wanted to ride a school bus for as long as I can remember! It was just as much fun for me to watch Kate's excitement as it must have been for her to get to ride the bus.


I really wanted Kate to ride a pony. She was a little cautious at first, but she enjoyed the ride.
Mommy wanted the ponies, but Kate wanted the pig race. Here she is on Daddy's shoulders waiting for the pig races to start. She was hot and tired. She still asks about once a week if we can go see another pig race.
We saw lots of fun and unusual sights. This juggler was one of Kate's favorites. There were some fun animals to pet and see too.



But the rides were what Josh was looking forward to taking Kate on. She has no fear and such zeal. She and Daddy had a lot of fun.

Kate technically wasn't tall enough to ride by herself, but this one guy let her slip by on this ride. Does a centimeter or two really make a difference. I bet the guy sensed it was her birthday. Kate was thrilled to go on a ride by herself!

The ride Kate wanted to go on the most was the Ferris Wheel. From the moment she heard we were going to the fair she asked if she could ride the Ferris Wheel. She loved peering over the edge (which made mommy a little nervous). She's a thrill seeker I'm afraid!