Happy 4th of July

This year we started our 4th of July celebration downtown at our local festival. We went in the morning to enjoy the walk-a-thon...er...uh...parade? It really wasn't much of a parade, I think the biggest (and only) float was a tractor and the largest groups were the three local co-op preschools. Good thing they all threw candy, Madison was thoroughly entertained with that. She got pretty good at darting in between feet to get to the treasure; near the end she even beat a few of the older boys who sat beside us! That's my girl! After the parade we walked over to the bouncy houses and pony rides to wait in line all day. We had enough of that and ended up at a local Chinese restaurant eating parade candy and moo goo gai pan. After our well balanced meal we were looking forward to a relaxing evening with the Calderwoods and some better grub! They didn't disappoint!

Madison and Caeden enjoying the show

Madison and Marisa's sister "Miss Hillary"I think Bex takes after his momma, he preferred watching from the car
I just don't understand why it is so fun to hold a flaming stick that shoots sparks up your armIn Issaquah it is illegal to do fireworks. This isn't new to us coming from California, we couldn't there either. That is OK with me, I have never been a big fireworks fan; I love to watch them from far away, but don't ask me to hold a sparkler. Anyway, I think all the people who want to do fireworks just go down to Maple Valley. I can't even explain how many fireworks we saw from the balcony of Carson and Marisa's house. The skyline was covered with official and unofficial shows all night long! We even had our own little show in the cul-de-sac they live in. It was a great evening with friends, really yummy food, and a spectacular show. Thanks Calderwoods!

All the kids got a turn with a Roman Candle