Which took place on the 5th and 6th of July, of course, since it poured alllllllll daaaaaay on the 4th! Fortunately, the weather that followed the hurricane was much cooler and drier, making for some really pleasant celebrations! It was so much nicer than usual!
On the 5th, our big activity was the town bike and doll carriage parade. The overall theme for this year was "Christmas in July," which I personally found to be pretty annoying. But we played along! Niko's bike was wrapped in candy-striped paper and blue paper, and he had gold Christmas bows on his helmet. He also had a sign on his helmet that said "The Gift of Freedom," but he declared that it was "soooo embarrassing" and took it off. sigh... Maya's bike was covered in aluminum foil, then we made snowflakes out of coffee filters and sprayed them with red and blue water (food coloring). They came out really pale, but whatever. We attached them to her bike and called it a day. The had fun, and got to visit with their friends... that's all that matters! :)
That afternoon, we stayed at home and relaxed. And then we went out to dinner to celebrate Gus' birthday. Really, we had celebrated at home on the actual day (July 1st), but we always like to go out to dinner. So we went to the Old Mill, which is always a hit with the kids!
Sunday was a super busy day for us. First, we took the canoe out for the first time this year. Best part? A bald eagle swooped down and snatched a fish out of the lake right in front of us! We had passed a kayaker who told us he'd seen the bird, so we were on the lookout. I was mostly scanning the shoreline and the tippy-tops of the trees, though. And Maya was the one who noticed him first! It was so cool! I only managed to get this one picture, though. I had my camera in my lap, was was too awe-struck to take a picture, haha!
We also saw tons and tons of beautiful water lilies! Maya was very happy. Niko was paranoid that we were going to capsize. I may or may not have shook the canoe on purpose (he was being a butt!)...
If you don't believe that the 6th of July can be cool and comfortable in Central Massachusetts, here is your proof! Both kids got cold out on the lake and asked for sweatshirts!
We got home just in time to eat a quick lunch, clean up, and head over to the town parade. It was in the low 80s at this point, and it wasn't as humid as it usually is, but sitting in direct sunlight for an hour was still pretty toasty. HOWEVER... the kids didn't sit in our laps this year! They were perfectly happy to stand at the edge of the road and run after all the candy thrown by people on the floats. And they weren't too bothered by the loud sirens! PROGRESS!!!
After that, we went home to try and rest for a few hours. We'd already set out our blanket to watch the fireworks later on, so we just needed to pace ourselves so the kids would actually make it! We headed back at around 7:30, and the kids had fun playing and visiting with friends for a few hours.
And then the fireworks started! They were great, as always. And Niko realized, for the first time ever, that they actually weren't *that* loud. He just sat back and enjoyed them-- no covered ears! Woohoo!
We made it home just after 10pm, and the kids went to bed right away. Niko even slept until after 7am this morning, which is sort of a miracle! Maya slept until nearly 8!
We did have to get moving, though, because today marked the first day of swim lessons for both kids! Niko went first at 10am, and was very excited about it. His buddy, Kam, is in the class, which helped... but the kid just loves swimming these days! Maya went next, at 10:30. She had been begging me to cancel her lessons, and she did NOT want to do them. But she ended up knowing a few kids in her class, and she had fun! She is excited to go again tomorrow! :)
It also ended up being a lot of fun for me, since there were lots of moms that I knew! I foresee some post-swim-lesson picnics in the park in the very near future! :)
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