Saturday, July 5, 2008

Independence Day!!

We had a simply magnificent 4th of July. Wasn't the weather perfect out here in the Midwest? Warm and sunny, but not too hot or humid. Perfect! I've been so grateful for the beautiful weather. My hugely pregnant self doesn't want to deal with the hot, hot, sticky hot of the summer just yet.
Anyway, we started out with John only having to do rounds on a couple patients, so he was back and free by 9:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.!! Aren't we lucky? Then we headed on over to a neighborhood bike parade (not our neighborhood, but Cross Creek--where the Galbraiths, Wheelers, and a whole bunch of other residents live). Olivia was all gussied up with a patriotic head scarf and police badge from the policeman running the event.
These are the BIG kids, getting ready to bike as fast as their little legs could go. We were warned at least 10,000 times by the man with the microphone that everyone had to stay BEHIND the fire trucks. Every time he said it, Olivia nodded over at me solemnly, acknowledging she had received the message clearly. (Considering our morning walks, where she won't cross the street if there is a car within visual distance going either direction, I wasn't really very worried.)
John was incredibly patriotic in his Honduran soccer jersey.
This was my favorite part of the pre-parade festivities. First, they had several grade school children sing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", and then a very small child lead us all in the pledge of allegiance. Then this forty-something guy pulls out his trumpet and plays "The Star-Spangled Banner." (I could just picture the neighborhood Parade-Planning Meeting, where the chairman voices, "Man, if we only knew someone who could still play the trumpet." And this guy got all excited, raised his hand wildly, and thinks triumphantly, "I knew it was a good thing to save my high school trumpet.") Then, he and another high-school band star--this one a thirty-something with a triple tom, led us out behind the fire trucks. It was awesome!

Here's the parade from my perspective. This is not really a parade that anyone watches, just a parade that everyone participates in.
After the parade, we retired to the Galbraiths to swim our little hearts out. Olivia is absolutely determined that she needs both goggles and floaties to swim. Consequently, she looks absolutely fabulous. Mimi changes from floaties to pool ring to life-preserver.
We have both of the girls signed up for swimming lessons starting Monday. Wish us luck!

After the swim-fest, we went home briefly to rest, and then headed out to a lovely barbecue at the Bradys, which I did not document. (Off topic: I would like to know the plural of such proper names as "Brady" and "Story". Are they the "Bradies" and the "Stories", or the "Bradys" and the "Storys"? I don't think an appostrophe is appropriate, considering I don't want the possessive form.)
I honestly didn't think anything could match up to the small-town 4th of July celebration in Blanding, but this came awfully close. What a lovely holiday!

7 comments:

Bonnie said...

I am so glad you found me so I could find you! You are more then welcome to use any of the pictures I took! I love your description of the day! It was so much fun. I think we are going to try swimming lessons tomorrow for Ayden anyway and see if he will get in the pool. Wish me luck! see you then!

Michael n' Brooke Sanderson said...

Wow, that looked fun, I wish we were there J/K. I believe it's Bradys, no ie and no apostrophy. Mike and I always argue about 's and when it does and doesn't belong.

Cynthia said...

That little parade looked so cute. I bet the girls were so excited to get to be apart of a parade.

Lyndsay said...

Erik opted to sport a Norway jersey for the 4th of July. Can you/John offer me a better justification for it than Erik did? I guess the jersey IS red white and blue....
I would vote for an "s" added to surnames ending in a "y," as in "Bradys."

Lyle said...

Bradys and Storys.

LaVaun Story said...

Lyle is correct as usual. It is Storys. Which is why I always use the Story Family in place of it. It just looks weird. (Again, this is Kellie Story, better known as LaVaun...) So, the Storys all concur that you had one FANTASTIC Fourth of July. So busy and so fun! Two thumbs up for that soccer jersey, John. You ought to make it a yearly Fourth of July tradition. One could pick you out of any crowd instantly.

John said...

Upon first glance it's very patriotic with lots of red, white, and blue (even has Coca Cola in blue on the front). Only one person recognized the big blue Salva Vida on the back as a brand of Honduran beer he had experienced (One more than I planned on). To his credit he did ease into the conversation by asking what team it was. When I told him it was actually Honduran he said "I knew it! I loved that beer." No clue about any Honduran teams but had recognized his beloved Salva Vida.