We had a 4th of July party

We had a 4th of July party.  I'm sure this is not shocking news, as we'll probably continue doing this as long as we live in this house with a pool. 

So, I wasn't really planning on taking lots of pictures or blogging any, but then, you know, I got snap happy.  I turned them into a slideshow and set the whole thing to music because it was actually far easier than pasting a bunch of photos here.

The party was super fun.  But let me tell you, setting it to "Magic in the Air" also makes it look about 10x funner.  (If you don't believe me, try taking pictures of your boring day at work, yourself taking out the trash, or maybe doing laundry, and then set it to "Magic in the Air", and voila!  Super fun day.)  The song, an unofficial anthem of the World Cup 2014, is a summer favorite in our family and is particularly fitting since we rigged up an outdoor TV during the party to put on the Brazil-Colombia match.  Gotta keep our Brazilian-American/American-Brazilian friends happy! 


4th of July Party 2014 from Kate on Vimeo.


From my perspective, the biggest improvement on our party vs. last year's was that, well, we hadn't just moved in 3 weeks earlier with a one year old, a three year old, and a five year old, and a truckload full of boxes that as of the 4th of July seemed to have exploded all over the house.  Yea progress!  

Independence Day 2013 - Party Pics!

We rather ill-advisedly threw a Fourth of July party this year.  I say ill-advisedly because you should have seen the state of our home leading up to the festivities!  Seriously. Also, I happen to be experiencing a moving-induced time warp where I have little to no sense of what day it is, so I sent out an evite to this party thinking that the 4th was surely weeks away, only to discover while talking to a friend on the phone that we had only 7 days to prepare.  "Wait, what?!  The 4th of July is this coming Thursday?!  You have got to be kidding."  Nope, not kidding.

However, we own a pool, so I think it is pretty much our duty as Americans to host an Independence Day get together.  There's probably a law about that.  And as it turns out, having a party looming on the calendar was just the swift kick we needed to get our rears in gear.  Even in the last few hours prior to the first guest's arrival Joe and I were scurrying around like maniacs, unpacking boxes and shoving things out of the way.  I am so thankful to be surrounded by friends and family who really don't care about appearances. 

We could not have had better weather - just warm enough for swimming, but not so hot to make everyone uncomfortable.  By a stroke of luck, we were able to have a swing set installed two days before the party (more on that later).  The yard truly did its job, and we all had a blast.  (At least our family did - I hope everyone else did, too.)

Here are a bunch of party pics that aren't really in order.  


{Signs by Georgia.}


{More signs by Georgia.  Artwork by June.}


{Hot mess on the run, about to get worse.}


{Waylon a little spooked by the smoke bombs and other "mild" fireworks.}


{Go, Mike!}


{Our own Little Chef "cooking".}


{Notice June had to swim in her clothes. In addition to her clothes and swimsuit, she also later appeared naked and in her nightgown at this party.}



{Max, Harry, Georgia, June and a bunch of glow sticks in the dark on the top bunk.}

Our entire day: 4th of July

First there was the Independence Day bike parade in my sister's neighborhood.  It was the BEST bike parade ever, because Joe took the girls out in the 3-digit heat while I selflessly volunteered to skip it and stay inside while Waylon napped at his aunt's.  I gave myself a pedicure and read US Weekly in the air conditioning.  I have to say, this was a huge improvement over last year's bike parade.

[Joe in charge of bike parade = no photos of it.  Maybe Beth will blog hers?]

Later that afternoon it was blueberry pie making time.


{This is me mocking myself. I've been really irritable lately, getting angrier with the kids than I would like to. I'm working on it. Anyway, this is my stern, "Stop eating flour!" face.}


Who, us, drive you crazy, Mama?  Couldn't be.


{Thanks for the onesie, Nana.}

Next we made good on our promise to give Georgia her big girl bike and took our first stab at teaching her to ride it.  After everyone's suggestions of when to grant her wish for a two wheeler, we decided to compromise and let her have the bike before her birthday, but make her earn it by practicing riding on her balance bike 10 times.  She enjoys her balance bike but was still a bit lazy about working toward this goal, so it took about a month.  Still, I think it was a win-win, because her transition to the big girl bike took all of about 5 minutes before she was doing it on her own.  I'm now a big believer in the whole balance bike theory of skipping training wheels if you want.

We got the bike used from Craigslist and it is a bit large and heavy for her to get started, but I guess she'll grow into it.  Until then, she still needs a little push.

{I would like to note that the knee pads were her idea.  The artificial turf was ours.}

Look who graduated to the balance bike and got a new helmet of her own?  June was pleased as punch.


Let's not forget Waylon, the hot, sweaty, supportive little brother.    


For posterity, here's a little video of Georgia on her bike.  I'm not sharing the video of me running along side her in which I somewhat resemble an injured ostrich chasing a cyclist.


(Note: June is actually being sweet to Waylon, not mean, by "watering" him at the end of this clip.  It was 102 degrees and as humid as all get out.)

Next up on the agenda:  going straight from biking to cooling off in the pool.  The stroller quickly transformed into a snack bar.  Add beer and some Pandora radio, and the next thing you know you've got a dance party.


Look at my manly men all comfortable with their masculinity:  Joe gettin' down, and Waylon chillin' in his pink diaper. 



Since Georgia got a feature video in this post, I think June deserves one, too:


[I started to say something to the effect of, "I hope she's always this comfortable in her own skin, and still rockin' out in her swimsuit when she's 80."  Then I realized that I actually pray there is an interim period beginning at about age 13 when she does not gyrate in a bikini quite so freely.] 

The after-party was a three kid bath event.


Followed by dinner, courtesy of Joe's giant cleaver that I got him for Father's Day (to balance out his other gift of a sewing class).  Renaissance man, I tell you what.


Finally it was bedtime for Waylon, and pie time for the rest of us on our building's rooftop in order to best view the wonder that is the fireworks of Logan Square.  As you can see from the photo below, though, June was not a fan of the explosions, so we quickly relocated.  There was no point even attempting to get the girls to sleep amidst such noise, so the next thing we knew, all four of us were snuggled in bed watching the display out our sliding glass porch door.  There are not many neighborhoods in America where you can manage to watch the 4th of July fireworks from your own bed, so we just sat back and enjoyed it.


{Pardon me for savoring these memories of the pie, but we have since put ourselves on another sugar detox/semi-"primal" way of eating.}


{Ha! I just thought the window would provide good lighting.  This shot was not intended to look seductive.}



And then everyone slept in the next morning.  (I had to wake June at 9:30.)  The End.