My Beamish Brood: Red, White and Blue

Happy Independence Day! We had a relaxing, laid-back celebration yesterday with my mom, my aunt and uncle and three cousins. What better way to spend the outrageously humid weather than in the pool at Grandma's house? Max was in heaven swimming with my cousins; they are high-school aged, and he thinks they walk on water. He turned my uncle's inner tube into a pirate ship, and they sailed around the pool singing sea chanteys and hunting for sea creatures.

We ate a simple (but simply delicious) dinner of fried chicken out by the pool, and my aunt made my all-time favorite dessert, pound cake with strawberries, blueberries, yogurt and whipped cream. YUM! After dinner, the boys swam a little more, then we had to pack up in order to make it to the St. Paul fireworks on time.

We didn't know how busy it would be down at Harriet Island, so we got there with plenty of time to spare. Parking ended up being no problem, and we easily staked out a spot on the grass with our blankets and sparklers. Lucian took some warming up, but by the end of it he actually held a sparkler all by himself! Max, of course, had no fear.

Then the show began! Max spent his time pretending to catch the fireworks, or singing triumphant music to accompany the show, or pointing out his favorite blasts (the red ones, of course). Lucian was just enthralled! I had been slightly worried that he would be afraid of the noise, but oh no, he loved it! So much so that when we got in our car to run errands this evening, he kept asking if we were going to see more fireworks.

And Audrey? She slept through the whole deafeningly loud extravaganza. Not a peep did we hear until the last fireworks had disappeared from the sky... then she wailed all the way back to the car. Oh that little girl... she loves noise. But how could it be otherwise? I doubt she had a quiet moment her entire 9 months in utero. Our home is not a place for those who need a lot of silence.

As is becoming 4th of July tradition, the kids didn't hit the hay until after 11:30 pm. I was dreading what this morning would bring, but they both were up and chipper at 8:00! Of course, Audrey had been up much of the preceding 3 hours, so I was not ready to greet the day, but at least I had happy boys to deal with. If fireworks put them in a good mood that lasts overnight, let's have them more often!

I hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating our nation's independence!