4th of July

Our first 4th of July in California was pretty good.  Our original intention was to go to a parade with Charles & Desiree at 9am.  However, when we woke up at 6am, tired, we rethought our plans and went back to sleep for a while.

Instead, we had a nice, leisurely breakfast and then headed to the neighborhood park.  It was still early, so the heat hadn't built up yet.  Anna and I found a patch of dandelions with long stems.  We gathered up a few bunches.  I made a flower wreath for Anna's head.  I think that's the first time in years I've made one of those.  Even Matthew modeled it for a bit.

After the park, we had a nice lunch and everyone went down for a nap.  Yay!  I love it when everyone gets to rest all at the same time.

That afternoon, we headed to Charles and Desiree's house for a barbeque.  We thought it would only be us, them, and Desiree's high-school friend.  As it turned out, the friend had a husband and son with her.  We also had a friend that's living with them and her friend with two daughters plus two other friends of Desiree's.  It was quite the group!

There was a lot of talking amongst the adults and a lot of playing amongst the kids.  What I thought was the most impressive about the barbeque was that it was 99% fresh, whole foods!  We had chicken kebobs, natural hot dogs, real chicken brats, fruit salad, homemade bread, fresh pico and guacamole with whole corn chips as well as several other things I can't remember.  We were stuffed with all the good food.

When we got home, Anna took a bath and the kids went to bed.  Fireworks are illegal because of the fire danger, plus the kids were tired.  Steve and I ended the day by watching Day 2 of our Lord of the Rings marathon.

She's Got Wheels

Steve, the kids, and I went to a kids' consignment shop last week to pick up some summer clothes for Anna and Matthew.  While we were there, I saw it.  A balance bike!  I'd been thinking of getting one for Anna for several months, but they can be kind of expensive, $70-$100, and I couldn't quite justify the expense.

For those of you that don't know, a balance bike is a small 2-wheel bicycle with no pedals.  It moves by the child pushing it with their feet, which can reach the ground.  The idea is that the child will learn to balance on two wheels without the need for training wheels and can transition to a regular bicycle more easily.

Anyway, I saw a Prince Lionheart balance bike in the store.  It had a price tag of just $49!  So, we bought it.  After a little adjustment in the seat, Anna got to take her first ride.

It's going to take some getting use to.  I had a hard time convincing her that she needed to sit on the seat, not just stand straddling the bike.  Also, she's still pretty wobbly and slow.  We'll have to make time for more practice.  Even so, Anna is so excited to have her own bike.  She likes to wear Grandma's bike helmet when she rides.  So cute.