7.4.11

I am still in awe that it is July already. Where did the past 6 months go?

Tradition usually rules this holiday, and this year was no different.
It was jam packed into one day because Girl's Camp dominated the first half of the weekend (more on that later).

Balloon Fest usually kicks off the festivities.
The three-day festival is a must see, even though it starts at 6:30 in the morning.
To avoid the crowds, we usually attend on the first day of the festival but the morning of the 4th was our only option.

And, man, it was packed. Does this picture make you want to cry?
Me too. Especially considering that we know how fabulous Balloon Fest can really be.
Trust me- there is only a 1/3 of the crowd on the other days.

Maybe everyone was getting their hot air balloon on because of the Vader balloon.
Sadly, I only got a picture from behind. Right as we were going to see the front, a huge gust of wind took down every balloon. Then they packed up and went home. Boo.

And, of course, with the debut of the Vader came people dressed in Star Wars costumes.
(Is this guy even a character?)

And some people make themselves so comfortable at Balloon Fest they even bring their portable grill for breakfast. Pancakes, anyone?

After the fateful gust of wind, we boogied on over to the parade.
Usually parade-eve is spent camping out for awesome parade spots and playing all night.
Am I getting too old? Maybe. This year, the Doty's scoped out the spot morning of and it was awesome.

J and S.
Parade spectator extraordinaires.

Me with the wonderful Doty's.
Holla.

Later that day, our nephews and niece came over to sell soft-serve ice cream on our street because we get so much traffic.
Apparently everyone was off barbecuing, but I think they still made some cash.
I mean, how could you not buy ice cream from such a cute entrepreneur?

 We ended the day with the most American thing ever: grilled bratwurst. Schmecht gut.
And fireworks, of course. How are you loving the new legal fireworks? Making fireworks legal that go 100 feet in the sky has sure spiced up this holiday season.

Hope you had a fun and safe 4th!


Sparkler photo tutorial found here.