“Happy Birthday, Knighted States”

Kyla spent this morning sing “Happy Birthday” to the United States and Piper and Wesley spent it packing up snacks in the backpack to go outside. (Because who knows when one will need an apple, newly squished peach, and a granola bar when one is so far from one’s kitchen.)  Piper, of course, dressed herself. The sock mittens are a new touch.

 

“I am pretending to look intently at my amazing mother build a wall, but we all know she is actually taking a picture.”

 

But Kyla’s doing something interesting.  Yeah, another shot of my firstborn in a tree.  “Look, Mama, no hands!”

 

I take lots of these sort of shots (the swing bench is like the trampoline and popsicles for photo ops), but it’s REALLY hard to get all the kids to look at the camera, let alone smile.

 

But then Dwayne went to the hardware store and brought back more crushed gravel.  And a wading pool!  With a hole in the bottom already punched!  But it’s bottom-dipping is still a great Fourth of July activity.

 

Piper prefers clothes dipping, I guess.

 

Tired of letting her toes and bottom get all the numbing, Kyla dips her head.

 

Followed quickly by Piper.

 

All right.  What else can we do with this pool.  I know!  Swim goggles!  And a diving board!  (Did the fearless gene completely override the intelligence gene?  Yes.  Yes, it did.)

 

I was too busy laughing at her belly flop to get a picture of it, but Piper was quite pleased with her jump.

We didn’t really celebrate the Fourth with anything special (except for s’mores for dessert), but I think it is a holiday that my kids will enjoy anyway.

And if you’re ever in our neck of the woods on the fourth day of July, we get a decent view of several fireworks shows from our front deck.  S’mores are on the back deck. Drop on in.

 

But the best part of the day for me was a 9pm, when I turned on NPR and got to listen to the 30 minute The Capitol Steps: Politics Takes a Holiday show.  The compilation of skits, parodies (“Obama” sings Under the Sea updated for Osama bin Laden), and impersonations are about the best thing to happen to radio since Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.   Enjoy!