Our Fourth of July weekend was full of activity, and we were grateful to make time to enjoy the holiday. We kicked things off Thursday afternoon with a family walk at a new park we hadn’t visited before. It was hot, but the scenery made it worth being outside.
One of our favorite spots at the park was a shaded tunnel that runs under the road. Clara could have spent hours playing in there.
That tunnel is where we took a fun photo we shared on Instagram that afternoon.
And yes, it was hot—definitely summer weather.
After we returned home, cooled off, and Clara took a nap, we headed to a neighbor’s BBQ. It felt welcoming to be invited so soon after moving in, and Clara had a blast running around in their backyard with a new little friend.
But our Fourth of July evening wasn’t over. Around 8 p.m., close to Clara’s usual bedtime, we met my family to watch local fireworks. There were fireworks after the Squirrels baseball game, so we joined many other families in the Science Museum parking lot and waited for the ninth inning to end. To pass the time we entertained ourselves with silly faces and a quick game to pick a winner (Todd won).
By the time the fireworks ended it was nearly 10 p.m., so we headed home to get some rest before more guests arrived the next morning. Clara’s cousins Elsa and Edison, along with their parents, came to spend the day and became our first overnight guests in the new house.
The day was relaxed. We played on the deck, went to lunch, watched the girls sample lemons, and spent more time outside.
That evening we took advantage of a friends-and-family night at the local pool and enjoyed some time splashing around together.
The celebrations continued the next morning, which happened to be my sister Katie’s birthday—she and her family had driven down from New York for the weekend. We hosted a casual birthday breakfast in our kitchen.
I even got up early to decorate a bit, making one of my mom’s traditional birthday signs. I blurred her age out, but left a nostalgic 80s photo on the banner since she used to love Bon Jovi.
The food stayed simple: pancakes and scrambled eggs at our house, with family bringing other dishes. It was a nice excuse to use some leftover party plates and enjoy a relaxed meal together.
The morning tested how our home handles six kids under four running around. Despite the chaos behind the scenes, the kids had fun and the house came through unscathed—Burger included.
After saying goodbye to Elsa’s family, we took a little downtime before the next visitors arrived. Sherry’s brother Dan (Uncle Monkey), his wife Ali, and their dog Sasha drove down from New Jersey for a quick visit, which included a trip to one of our favorite parks.
Clara is at the age where she prefers walking more than sitting in the stroller, which I enjoy because it lets her explore. It does mean the stroller sometimes gets left behind, and I occasionally find myself carrying it through tougher stretches of the path.
Stroller or not, it was a wonderful visit with Sherry’s family. Clara absolutely adores her Uncle Monkey.
Dan, Ali, and Sasha hit the road early the next morning to avoid holiday traffic, which left us with a mostly free day. That was perfect timing, because it was our wedding anniversary—another story for another post.