Red, white and (not) cool!

Since Joe was lucky enough to have the fourth off we all dressed in our finest red, white and blue attire....or just any red, white and blue attire we could find in our (mostly unpacked) closets and loaded into the family van to find the local parade. Because inevitably there is a parade on July 4th regardless of where you are in this country. But first we took our obligatory patriotic family picture. Just like last year. Except this year Levi is HERE and a big part of our family...and not just in the-embryo-that-is-making-mommy-sick-and-tired-all-the-time kind of way. Instead he is a real member of our family. With thoughts and opinions. And quirky little habits. He's been here for five months and now I can hardly remember life without him. I certainly can't imagine our family without him! But a year ago I couldn't imagine our family with him (though I knew he was on his way). That's the funny thing about having kids. Each one completes your family a little more. In ways you didn't even know you were incomplete.

And this ends my deep thoughts.

Back to the parade. And silly things like candy. Or the lack thereof. Because unlike last year my kids did not come home from the parade with a pound of candy each. Which (in theory) is not a bad thing in and of itself. But it was HOT, humid, and windy at the parade. And while watching the trucks, cars and floats go by was fun...candy definitely would have made it better/tolerable.  But that was small fries in comparison to the "rat half the size of Eddy (my dad's dog) and the dead dog on the street corner" that Isaiah claimed to see on our way to the parade. Um what?!?!? No. No. No. Rats and dead dogs? Where do we live?!? (Thankfully not in that part of the city)

No one beside Isaiah saw this wildlife. And Joe thinks Isaiah was exaggerating. "Probably a stray cat and a sleeping dog." Either way I'm in no hurry to head back to that part of town. Maybe we'll skip the parade next year. The beach is much more my style anyways.