first, we athlete ourselves at 730 am. usually it's a triathalon, but this year a blue-green toxic algae bloom at our neighborhood beach meant the swim was cancelled and replaced by a water balloon toss. then we bike. then we run. maybe it was a duathalon? we -athalon with our friends and neighbors. it's fun and silly, and the kids cheer wildly and play unattended at the playground.
we all got some medals (which we had to give back), and some donuts (which we got to keep).
then we hustle over to the parade starting line a block away.
our little hood crowns a queen each year (as opposed to a democratic election, which would probably be much more in keeping with the spirit of the 4th, but i doubt you could get anyone to run for this office....), and the queen gets to ride around the block in a truck, leading a crowd of dressed up children on decorated bicycles. the queen then has the honor of planning the party for the next year. our lovely friend amy, the reigning queen, passed the crown to our lovely friend eleanore, and the parade began.
then the dunk tank (james' desire, reluctance, fear, and ultimate success in sitting upon the dunk tank seat and allowing himself to be dunked is an epic story of bravery, emotions, and A game top-level dad skill from david),
(also, check out ramona's calling out her shot. spoiler--she did not dunk him, but she got darn close.)
david's turn...
the dancing, the ping pong, the face paints, the ice cream, the potluck, the kids' dash, the waterballoons. goodness, it was a full day.
later, james' fear of fireworks sent us home instead of enjoying the small fireworks in the middle of the street at the end of the party. he allowed us to light a few little smoke bombs and light up things at sunset,
but watched any noisemakers from inside the house, with his fingers in his ear. that kid is DEFINITELY my son.
happy fourth!
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