Happy 4th of July

The fireworks are over and Americans are done celebrating the 235th anniversary of the U.S. We may not have had fireworks per se at our house over the weekend (too loud and scary for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers), but there was plenty of noise and action anyway. Here are pictures and captions of some of the highlights. One highlight we didn't capture in a photo was a crazy Skype session with E, E, h, and v to hear about Hannah's participation in a kiddie parade and all the excitement of the 4th of July in NC. we miss you all!

After a failed attempt to keep the whale pool inflated and the realization that the back yard was gnat heaven, the decision was made to have a run-through-the-sprinkler party in the front yard. It was shadier and occasionally breezier, helping the bug situation from time to time. Notice there are no photos of the adult onlookers. Although we were in the background of several photos, we all looked grumpy because we were swatting at the pesky gnats!

Three playful cousins

Ethan, flying through the streams of water...

Owen, looking over the situation...

Miles, encouraging a full run at the sprinkler...

 Make that a full BACK-IN to the sprinkler!

 Bros, liking the water...

 It's fun to fill hats with water, too...

While the big boys took a bath, Westy and his daddy enjoyed Cheerios together.

Yup, I like Cheerios!

Here are the bigger boys showing off their wet hairdos and squeaky-clean but somewhat bug-bitten faces. Westy didn't join them in the sprinkler or the bath, but he already had the bare shoulder look (and a rather presidential hairdo), so he asked to be photographed, too.

The 4th of July is an annual milestone that has forever signaled the beginning of the end of summer for me, and I'm sure for lots of folks who have spent their lives in school the way I have. It's no different this July, except that I don't have the worried feeling in the pit of my stomach that I won't be ready to face my students, since I won't have any this fall (with the exception of that unsuspecting Luther student teacher I'll be supervising in New Prague).  I'm sure I'll find other things to worry about!