Our Fourth of July weekend was busy in the best way: full of family, simple celebrations, and plenty of time outdoors. We started the holiday Thursday afternoon with a walk around a new park we hadn’t visited before. It was hot, but the scenery made it impossible to stay inside.
One of the highlights was a shaded tunnel that ran beneath the road. Clara could have stayed in there for hours—she loved exploring the cool, quiet space while we enjoyed the shade.
From that tunnel we snagged a favorite photo we later shared on Instagram. It felt like a small, perfect moment of the day.
Yes, it was hot—no denying that. But even the heat couldn’t dampen our spirits.
After we returned home, cooled off, and Clara took a nap, we wandered over to a neighbor’s backyard for a small Fourth of July barbecue. It was a warm welcome to the neighborhood to already be included in a casual get-together. Clara spent the afternoon racing around the yard with another little girl—clearly the start of a new friendship.
The evening held more festivities. Around 8 p.m.—which is usually Clara’s bedtime—we met up with my family to watch local fireworks. Since there were fireworks planned after the Squirrels baseball game, we settled in with a crowd in the Science Museum parking lot to wait for the end of the ninth inning. To pass the time we made silly faces and played little games; Todd ended up winning our impromptu contest.
By the time the fireworks finished it was nearly 10 p.m., so we headed home to get some sleep before more guests arrived the next morning. Clara’s cousins Elsa and Edison—along with their parents—came for the day and became our very first overnight guests in the new house.
The Saturday with cousins was delightfully low-key. We spent time on the deck, went out to lunch, let the girls investigate lemons (yes, they tried them), and played outside some more. In the evening we took advantage of a friends & family night at the local pool, which everyone enjoyed.
The next morning was especially festive: it was my sister Katie’s birthday, and she’d come down from New York with her family for the weekend. We hosted a casual birthday breakfast in our kitchen and kept the spread simple—pancakes, scrambled eggs, and a few dishes our family brought. I even put together one of my mom’s traditional birthday signs to hang up, though I blurred Katie’s age out of courtesy. I couldn’t resist adding an ’80s Bon Jovi picture to the banner since she used to be a big fan.
Breakfast was a lively test of how our home handles a crowd—six kids under four running around is always a handful. The calm photos don’t tell the whole story; it was a bit of a madhouse, but everyone had fun and the house survived just fine. Burger fared well too and soaked up some extra attention.
After Katie and her family headed home, we had a little downtime before the next round of visitors: Sherry’s brother Dan (aka Uncle Monkey), his wife Ali, and their dog Sasha drove down from New Jersey. We caught up and took a trip to one of our favorite parks, which Clara especially enjoyed.
Clara is reaching an age where she prefers walking much of the time instead of riding in a stroller. I like it—she explores more and notices little things along the way. Of course, that sometimes means taking routes that aren’t stroller-friendly, and on those stretches I end up carrying the stroller—whatever it takes to keep the adventure going.
Uncle Monkey’s visit was full of easy fun, and it’s safe to say Clara adores him. Dan, Ali, and Sasha headed back to New Jersey the next morning to avoid heavy holiday traffic, leaving us with a quieter day—perfect timing, since it was our wedding anniversary. But that’s a story for another post.