I just love the 4th of July. I had such wonderful Fourths growing up in the great state of Idaho, and as every July rolls around, my heart hurts that I am not there enjoying BBQ and fruit pizza and the Biggest Show in Idaho (if you're from Pocatello, you are reading that in the appropriate radio announcer voice). Fortunately, my formative years and my few years of motherhood have left me with a few keys to any All-American celebration.
1) Pre-celebration is key.
In the days leading up to the 4th, we made patriotic cupcakes, ate patriotic popsicles, painted flags, and dolled up our nails in the red, white, and blue. While I was painting Carly's fingers, Quinn ran right over and sat down and stuck her toes in the air. Needless to say, she sported the most adorable festive pedicure over the weekend. On the third, Carly woke up to a new stuffed puppy (to share . . . ) and a United States puzzle. I had a similar puzzle growing up and loved it (#nerdalert). We did the puzzle during naptime, and we reviewed all the states and know and love people that live in quite a few of them. Carly found Michigan right away and put it right in it's place. As for the puppy . . . Carly spotted it at the mall and talked about it all the time. I found it on Amazon for a fraction of the price, but her birthday seemed too long to wait. A patriotic ribbon made him the perfect festive surprise. I told Chris I wanted him to have a fun name to go along with the holiday, but I was struggling to come up with one. And, folks, this is why I married Chris . . he came up with the perfect name. Carly just loves cute little POTUS.
2) Wear your [patriotic] heart on your sleeve.
If you've been around a while, you know I'm a sucker for a holiday outfit, but the 4th takes the cake in my book. Between my MIL feeding my addiction and my raiding of the 4th of July section at a consignment store, our trio was well-outfitted. Quinn's sailor dress is a personal favorite of mine. She also had a star necklace and red, white, and blue sunglasses that she rocked on the 4th. Did I mention she loves accessories? All three of my American sweethearts looked adorable throughout the week. I can keep dressing them in coordinating red, white, and blue until Labor Day, right?
3) Enjoy America's pastime.
We had the unique opportunity to go to an MLB game the afternoon of the 4th. Chris's uncle organized a bunch of family members to go. Chris's uncle, however, is a White Sox fan and we found ourselves on the wrong side of the tracks. You have to understand, Chris takes time every evening to check 7 different levels of the Chicago Cubs organization. We no longer have cable so he watches the little dots pop up on the computer screen to see what is going on during games. He is one of those people. But a pro baseball game is a pro baseball game, and we had a lot of fun enjoying the game with family (and without kids!). Unfortunately, it was hot and the game was initially very boring. But the shade moved over us, we consumed a full-sized helmet full of ice cream, and, wouldn't you know it, the game ended in the 9th with a walk-off home run. An all-American ending, to be sure.
4) Fireworks, of course.
I love fireworks. I mean, I seriously love fireworks. As a kid we'd walk from our house with my dad down to the local fairgrounds and sit right under them as the exploded above us. I have such wonderful memories of that. But late night fireworks with three small children in a busy crowded place? Not my cup of tea. Luckily, every year we somehow manage to enjoy fireworks, and this year, Chris uncles came through. The night of the 4th, Uncle Pete put on quite the show, bright and loud and beautiful (and probably not all that legal). John was loving it and clapped and pointed excitedly. Quinn was a bit nervous but still watched with great interest. I'm assuming Carly enjoyed herself, as she sat on a hammock with approximately 10 of Chris's teenage girl cousins. It may not be the Biggest Show in Idaho, but it filled my babies' eyes with wonder, and it filled my heart with pride and joy, and that's what its all about.
5) Swim. A lot.
Uncle Pete and Aunt Laurie were kind enough to offer up their pool to us on the 4th, and we crashed them again on the 5th. The kids were all outfitted in festive swimsuits, and we spent hours eating yummy snacks, drinking cool beverages, eating popsicles, and swimming swimming swimming with cousins. Carly and John are little fishies. John would dog-paddle all around the pool. And when you sat him on the edge he would jump right back in to your arms. Carly played with cousins, and soon became a pro at jumping off the diving board. Quinn was more of the beach babe type, walking around looking adorable and dipping her toes in once in a while to stay cool.
6) Get some rest.
After our disastrous hotel stay in Holland in May, we had a lot of anxiety about our holiday trip to Chicago. But we must have worn those kids out, because they slept great in the hotel. They did so great that we extended our stay a night. Not to say we weren't all still quite exhausted, but hotel living wasn't as bad as we expected. It was a bit wild. Every night the kids were bathed and put in jammies at a different house, then the drive to our hotel put them to sleep, and we had a carefully orchestrated dance to keep them asleep and get them up to the room without leaving anyone unattended. Chris and I run quite the show. I do have to say, I wish when I left my house every day I would come home to freshly cleaned and made beds and towels.
7) Diversify your entertainment.
After two days of swimming, we decided to mix it up and headed to a nearby zoo with grandma and Aunt Becky. I am used to our little Lansing zoo, so this zoo seemed quite large. The issue with a large zoo is the animals are harder to see and the walking between animals is further. We went to a dolphin show while there, which was fun but needed a bit more jumping and a bit less talking. The best part was definitely the ocean aquarium, with rays and little sharks and big fish and a giant eel . . . and air conditioning. We're aquarium people, I think. But we had a great exhausting afternoon with grandma and Becky, and we did, in the end, see polar bears.
8) Family.
While the family I grew up with is 1600 miles away, the wonderful family I married into is just a hop, skip, and a jump from us. We are blessed to be so close to Indiana and Chicago, where Chris's family and extended family live. Every morning during our trip started at great-grandma's house. Known by many as "Baga", her home is full of food, dogs, Moose Tracks ice cream, soda, cozy couches, orders of Aurelio's pizza, and cousins. It was a magical place for Chris growing up, and has since become the same for me. What a blessing it is for my kids to be able to toddle around there, chasing doggies and exploring the backyard. Chris is the oldest cousin by quite a ways, and the gaggle of young girl cousins I met 7 years ago are now beautiful teens and women. Carly just loves them all. On day 2 of the trip, I asked her what she wanted to do and she relied, "I want to play with all the girls!" All of our family was great at entertaining the kids, meaning mom and dad got a bit of a breather here and there, and the kids got spoiled rotten. Not to mention grandma and papa, who took the brunt of the force the kids can cause, and made our weekend a wonderful one, while making theirs an exhausting one.
9) Remember the reason for the season.
I suppose one of the reasons I'm such a 4th of July buff is that I'm a history and politics nerd. What a blessing it is to live in this country. You can say this or that about a president, about Supreme Court rulings, or laws being passed. But there is such beauty in all of it. Beauty in the mountains and rivers and rolling hills and endless miles of open plains (maybe?) and the big cities and the little farm towns. But also beauty in the branches of government, the check and balances, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence. So much beauty in the history, and evidence of a divine hand that led the creation of a country where freedom could find new life, and the Gospel could be restored. I am so grateful that this is my home, so grateful for the comforts I have been provided, and so grateful to raise my family here.
We had a truly fabulous 4th.
We hope you did too.
No comments:
Post a Comment