I had such a happy happy 4th of July.

It started out a little grim. Rose was so excited last night that she couldn't get to sleep, so she was whiny and petulant this morning. All improved when we started getting ready for our kids' parade.

This year, instead of going to one of the big kids' parades around the city, we arranged one for our block. We have three other families on the block, and we don't run in and out of each others' backyards nearly as much as I'd like. It was so sweet to see us all converge on the local coffee shop with our bikes, wagons, and trikes decorated. My sister handed out beads to everyone. We also invited a few other friends from the neighborhood and they brought their grandparents, so I think there were 19 kids and at least that many grown-ups. We paraded up and down the block and wound our way to a local school playground. Then I gave everyone popsicles and the kids played.

Naptime went reasonably well meaning I napped, Rose played quietly in her room, and David did puzzles with John. David did have a pretty bad overtired spat there, but I threw him in the car without his pants on, and we went off to my mom's house where he got immensely cheerful helping to put the crackers in the bowl. What's my next job? was his constant refrain.

We have a 4th of July party at my mom's house every year where you can see a fabulous display of fireworks. It's been somewhat stressful for me with the kids what with worrying about hauling them out of there before the fireworks or letting them stay up two hours past bedtime for the fireworks or just managing them in the crowd. This year was so easy. David and Rose both let other people entertain them, so I got to actually talk to friends. They had a great time turning the crank on the ice cream mixer and eating the ice cream of course. David did not want to leave but with some flat out bribery (you can have one more chocolate after you get your pajamas on) and some slight trickery (let's listen for fireworks as we drive home) we got him in the car where he fell asleep.

So, I've been home for several hours reading my book. I hope Rose and John continued to have fun. I hope Rose is not a basketcase tomorrow. Happy happy 4th of July.