3rd/4th of July

Silly Hilliard decided that they would have their parade on Sunday this year, and we thought that was lame, so we went to Dublin's parade on Saturday with the Richards. E was a lot more excited about the parade this year than he was last year, and he was almost useful gathering candy. :)

Ah, that's my son. Terrified of all mascots everywhere.

Since the parade and festivities were on Saturday, that also meant they fell on my birthday this year! The Richards were good sports to spend practically the whole day with us on our group date. We went to Genji, a Japanese steakhouse, for my birthday dinner, and we had a great time. We especially enjoyed the big whoosh of fire that made both of their children burst into tears.
It made Emerson yell "Whoa! Fire!" and he loved it. I don't know where that brave boy came from...especially the brave boy with 50% more teeth than the average toddler. (I'm just kidding, he just looks really toothy in his cheeseball picture.)
He was my big helper when I was blowing out the candles on my birthday cake. It was a Cookies 'n' Cream cake and it was delectable.
After cake, we headed to the Dublin fireworks. E didn't know why he got to stay up way past bedtime, but he was loving it. When we got to our spot and spread out blanket out, he proceeded to run down the hill lightning fast when he saw a dad and son playing frisbee together. Out of nowhere, he totally stole their frisbee and ran away. We didn't teach him that! So Ben was a good dad and helped him give it back. Little stinker.


On the Fourth, we were super fun and did snaps and sparklers. E thought they were cool until he put it too close to his body and felt the sting, and then he said "go mommy" and handed it to me.

He was also a lucky duck and got to stay up late AGAIN to go to the Hilliard fireworks.

Happy Fourth of July!

Something we shall try not to dwell on was the fact that our a/c went out on my birthday of all days! And of course they couldn't come fix it until the 6th...3 whole hot days away! It was a blistering 94 degrees with 85-100% humidity. I was dying and actually burst into tears on Tuesday afternoon when the repairman hadn't called to say he was coming yet. I had my first experience with sausage feet that afternoon, and I have a greater appreciation for those pregnant women who experience that more often than I have. It stinks. But luckily now it is a distant memory because it is fixed and we are once again comfortable and non-puffy.