Fireworks and Other Fun

We had a very full Independence Day and the three day weekend this year. We started out the holiday weekend with Tadashi's 4th birthday party on Saturday. Owen had a great time with the trombone band that played the party, and Nora played contentedly with the other babies.

That was just the beginning of Owen's excitement for the day, because after coming home for a quick dinner Mom Mom and Grandpa Don came over to take Owen to the Kennedy Center to see Mary Poppins. The original plan was for Owen to spend the night at Mom Mom and Grandpa Don's house after the show, but the poor little guy was so exhausted by the end of the day that he broke down when he got to Silver Spring and desperately wanted to be in his own bed. Mom Mom kindly drove him back home, and by midnight he was back in his own bed sound asleep. After a good night's sleep and a 4th of July breakfast of chocolate pancakes Owen recounted how much he loved seeing Mary Poppins, especially Bert walking on the ceiling during Step in Time. Then he called Mom Mom to thank her for taking him to the show, and told her that he'd like to sleep over at her house another time when he hadn't had "such a big day" and when he wouldn't miss out on Daddy's chocolate pancakes;-)

On Sunday we tried to take it easy for most of the day to prepare for braving the crowds to see the fireworks on the Mall. Elaine was anticipating an unmitigated disaster, but we managed to find parking in our old neighborhood, and it was just a short walk to a lovely spot in the grass by the Botanic Gardens where we spread out our blanket to watch the fireworks. Owen wasn't overly fond of all the noise, particularly the cannons near us that went off during the 1812 Overture, but he enjoyed seeing the fireworks, and Nora wasn't phased by any of it. Certainly not an unmitigated disaster, and we might even try it again sometime.

On Monday we finally relaxed with an afternoon at Mom Mom and Grandpa Don's and a swim in Rose's pool. Katherine was in town, and Jen came over, and several people from the neighborhood joined us for a little 5th of July cookout. A nice way to end the long weekend.

(click here for all the pictures)