That one day in July

 As July 4th drew closer and closer I wondered what we would do.  We were in a new city, with no idea of what would be good for our little family.  I knew they did a HUGE celebration in Boise, but the thought of hauling two kids around all day without naps, in the heat, walking long distances, no parking spaces.....it just didn't sound like fun.  Maybe when the kids are a lot older.

So I looked for something nearer.  Turns out that on the Fourth of July, Nampa is really Nada, ID.  I guess I can't blame them for saving their money when Boise has such a big offering, but....nothing?  Not even a pancake breakfast or a flag raising?  If there was one, we didn't hear about it.

I had heard that Melba was the place to go.  The tiny town of 500 swells to more than 15,000 during their Independence Day Celebration.  But we decided to try to keep it simple our first year here.  We went to Caldwell.

We parked on a residential street and didn't have to walk very far to find the little parade.  It was short, with few actual floats and no bands, but everyone was enthusiastic and having fun.  My favorite float was this one with clowns and a "spinning swings" carnival ride that some stuffed animals were enjoying.  We were also impressed by this DeLorean-esk car.  (Anyone know what it is?)
After the parade we went to the park, where lots of food vendors and game booths had set up.  There was a beautiful corridor of flags arranged that everyone walked down to get to the park.  Each of the flags (there were around 30?) had the picture and obituary of a fallen serviceman on it.  It was very touching, but I forgot to take a picture.

We found this rope walk, run by the boy scouts.  It had a short line that took a long time because the kids were generally pretty slow and scared.  Annalee was slow and steady, walking without any assistance from Dad.

Next, we went to the bouncy-house section, where Annalee chose the longest line to stand in.  Nearby was a playground.  My first thought was, "Annalee can go play over there while I stand in line for her."  Heh.  Then my brain came back and I said, "Annalee, we can wait in this loooong line, OR we can play at the playground.  We don't have time for both."

Ah, I enjoy these times when I can still heavily sway my children's decisions!

The sand was a big hit with Vander.

That night we had red, white, and blue desserts.  Then we put the kids to bed at their normal time.  (At 7:00, when it's still light.)

We thought how nice it would be to go to the fireworks, but it just isn't worth it at this point in our lives.  Every time we let the kids stay up late for something fun it ends up being anything but!

As it got dark, we started to hear fireworks and discovered that we had a pretty good view of Caldwell's show from the window of my sewing room.  We decided to wake Annalee up to enjoy them with us.  (She has to get up a few hours after going to sleep for a potty break anyway.)  Then, on a whim, I opened the window and took out the screen.  Soon, the three of us were sitting on the roof over our garage.  It was so fun!  Annalee was cold, so Daddy held her wrapped in a blanket.  She was in a sleepy daze most of the time.  We saw the far-off Caldwell show, but even more exciting were the many, MANY illegal fireworks people were shooting off in Nampa out of their backyards.  Living in a nice neighborhood means our neighbors can afford some NICE fireworks!

Surprisingly, this year Tavi didn't mind the fireworks that much.  Normally he works himself into such a nervous state that he won't go outside and has accidents in the house.  This year he just carried on as if nothing was going on.  I'm not sure if he's just mellowing or what.

Annalee still keeps asking if we can go out on the roof again.  I have to tell her it is a once-a-year thing.  But I think we have found a new family tradition!