the holiday kicked off with the neighborhood triathalon. the number of participants has grown substantially since david's first victorious entry. this year, he had to race against two of our athletic teenaged babysitters! don't worry: he came in second place, losing his first place spot to the natural winner, neighbor dave, a 2 time ironman finisher and born speed demon.
the entire field enters the chilly mendota morning waters...
staple had the fastest transitions! (those teenagers stopped to talk, change their clothes, check their phones, and probably take some selfies for snapchat or whatever kids do now)
david was likely cheered to his success by this sassy squad, who were happy to watch the swim from the lifeguard chair.
finish line!
next year, i'm doing it (as long as i can find a babysitter, because apparently all my babysitters are now in the race too).
immediately after the race, we decorated the kidss scooters for the neighborhood parade, where we all walked en masse behind our new queen.
as soon as the neighborhood parade ended, the dunk tank started. there's our friend christy, one of the few adults not afraid of the cold water.
here's a few of our favorite little neighborhood buggers.
after the neighborhood festivities, we took the kids home for a little quiet time. it was then that we discovered one of our resident baby green herons had become separated from his family in the tree along our driveway, and was far removed in a bush in our yard. he was squawking and flapping and panicking, and his mother was dashing about in the sky, but the situation seemed rather helpless. that is, until our brave policewoman neighbor arrived home, assessed the situation, and swung into action. she coaxed that little bird onto a stick, and successfully transferred him back to the nest. it was an independence day miracle.
lost bird
saved bird
and then it was party time. a neighbor's house full of cheer and happy people and lots and lots of kids was the perfect place to spend the evening of the fourth. the kids got their hands on a spinnaker, and you can imagine how much fun they had!
beautiful sunset at the party. i came up with this new life maxim at the party: if you're going to live on a lake, live on the one with the sunset. right?
these two school buddies stayed up late, watched fireworks from the pier with the adults and big kids, and even got to play with sparklers.
james didn't fare so well. around 9 pm he loudly announced that he didn't want to see fireworks and wanted to go to bed. can't argue with that. david and james missed the small local maple bluff fireworks display, which we watched from across the water. it was nice, but i can't help noticing that this picture:
looks like this:
apparently my job is affecting my vision. ahem. anyway....
the next day, more fun. we went to the home of our dear buddies the damons, and blew stuff up.
the kids are equal parts terrified of the noise (fact: 3 out of 4 children will cover their ears when david staple lights a friendship fountain) and enamored of the thrilling blast.
after the kids were fast asleep, it was the adults' turn. this time, we had wine and bigger explosives.
happy birthday america! way to stick it to those red coats!
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