A Festive Fourth

I'm posting the pictures from Fourth of July, but am just going to write about the highlights:

• We went to Carmelfest Tuesday night with our friends Jon & Lauren before going to the mall (where I played with an iPhone) and a movie.


• Wednesday morning, we went to breakfast with my parents, then staked out a spot to watch (most of) the Carmel parade. There were at least 5 marching bands in the parade, including the Carmel band. the red-headed girl in the middle? I baby-sat for her when she was in 4th-5th grade. Sigh. I'm getting old. Also, there was a drumline marching in the parade that was from an inner-city ministry that played at our church on Easter. It was neat to see them again.


• After the Carmel parade, we headed to Lebanon for the small-town version. It's interesting- the Carmel parade is longer and more polished, with bigger-name acts, but the Lebanon parade is a much bigger deal. By some reports, people staked out the prime parade-route spots a week in advance this year. the whole town goes all out. I sat next to my nephew to watch the parade, and taught him a cause-and-effect: if he waved at the parade marchers, they'd throw him candy. It worked pretty well.


• After the parade, we headed to a cookout at my brother-in-law's house. After eating, the party moved to the pool and then to various games. Guess which one I played?


• After the long day, we were worn out. We didn't watch fireworks, we just went home and slept. All day yesterday felt like a Monday, and today like a Tuesday. We are still recovering & still tired from all the excitement.

See the whole album:

july4-07