Belated 4th of July

Well here are a couple of 4th of July pictures. I finally got my camera back and got the pictures off of it. When I did, I realized I didn't take very many pictures. Oh well. The 4th was a lot of fun. We went to two neighborhood parades. See, in Topeka they don't have a big 4th of July parade. They have a big parade for St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, and The Mexican Fiesta days, but not the 4th - go figure. Anyway, Jeff started the day by taking the three oldest kids on a hike and to breakfast. He then got home just in time for us to make it to the only neighborhood parade we'd heard about this year. We got there about ten minutes before it started, parked half-a-block from the parade route, and got a seat right in front. (we were some of the only people watching the parade. Everyone else was in it.) That's our kind of parade. Being at the beginning of the parade was great because everyone was anxious to throw out candy. That's one thing they do well at the Topeka parades. Our kids scored on the treats, as well as a balloon, a bag to hold their candy, chips, and necklaces. The parade lasted all of ten minutes and we were done. We then over heard someone talking about another parade close by, so we headed over there to check it out. The second parade was bigger than the first and many of the people in it were the same. Jeff even decided to join the fun by walking the parade route with Taylor, Emily, and Parker. It was fun to watch them. At night we went to a friend's house for dinner, swimming, and fireworks. It was a fun day!