July 4th!

Happy July 4th!  We sure had a blast. It was nice getting a day off mid-week.  We took it easy this morning and played Legos, of course!  We built a new “farmer’s market” type of set, and nearly finished following all of the “constructions”, as Brian calls them!  But, with a little sister and Brian’s big ideas, we usually go off the structured path pretty quickly. 🙂  Later, we played outside, with the kids drawing with chalk and making the toy garage into a multi-level car wash while Brandon did a little more work on the garage project.  Hey, just add water–instant fun!   We brought out our LED Christmas decorations, since we remembered they have a red-white-blue setting.  After some dry clothes, nap, and snack, this evening we went over to Red Hat Tower to view the downtown Raleigh fireworks.  Brandon figured that the top of the parking deck would be a good angle, and he was right!  We had a nice little tailgating setup and watched the show comfortably.  Remembering how Grandpa Roger surprised Brian with July 4th glowsticks when we were in Colorado, I planned ahead this year, and packed a set of glow bracelets for the kids to enjoy while waiting for the fireworks to start.  Needless to say, they were a real hit!  Brian and Kendall both enjoyed wearing them and making them into chains.  Then it was time for the fireworks show!  Brian isn’t afraid of the noise now, and just covered his ears when it got to be too much.  We wondered if Kendall would be afraid of the big booms–but, she wasn’t, not one bit!  She thought about it seriously at first, eyes wide and thumb in her mouth–but then, she flipped into full-on celebration mode!  We might have stayed up past everyone’s bedtime, but we had such a great time together.  That’s what it’s all about, right? 🙂