Saturday, July 18, 2009

fun on the fourth

We had a full and fantastic 4th of July. We started with a pancake breakfast and flag ceremony at the church where Anna got to enjoy syrupy hands, friendly dogs, and pushing her stroller.

When we got home, Anna took a nap and I made this patriotic fruit pizza...

...which we then took to see Lindsey! We've been friends since we were five and hardly ever get to see each other. We heard the wonderful news that she's expecting (HOORAY!!!) and just enjoyed each other's company and conversation for a few fun hours. Her wonderful Aunt and Uncle were so kind to let Anna run amok in their beautiful house. How we love people who understand that babies are messy.


Then we went home for Anna to take another quick nap before we headed to George's first birthday party! We had the perfect dinner: burgers and picnic-y sides. I remember being so satisfied at its deliciousness. The kiddos played, fascinated by the stairs and a singing, dancing, story-telling Elmo. And George loved his birthday cake, digging right in when we all thought it was safely out of reach.


Afterwards, we went straight to Miller Outdoor Theater to see the Houston Symphony play their free 4th of July pops concert. It was PACKED. There were way more people there than I'd ever seen. But Katrina and Gordon had saved us some room on their blanket and we had a marvelous time listening to the beautiful music.


It was steamy hot, so we stripped Anna down at intermission which was already WAY past her bedtime. Finally, we got to the best part: the 1812 Overature with real cannons.



Anna wasn't at all frightened by the booms; she just danced to the music. And then, she marvelled through the entire fireworks show. She was soooo tired by the time it started (around 10:30) that she kept turning around and holding my arm to make sure I was there, but otherwise, she was mezmorized by the fireworks and kept making the sign for light. It was probably one of the most adorable things I have ever seen in my entire life. On the way home, Sam said he once read an article where the author said that fireworks were overrated and a waste of time and money. He then said, "That man has never watched his child see fireworks for the very first time."

3 comments:

Laurie said...

What a fun packed day! I'm glad you had a good fourth.

Rebecca Holt Stay said...

Great Day!
At the Boston Pops concert, along with cannons, they also had all the churches in Boston ring their bells simultaneously. It was wonderful.
Plus, Tim's kids - actually anyone who wanted to - got to sit in a sailboat on the Charles River and watch the fireworks. I loved how they reflected off the water and off the shiny skyscrapers.

Rebecca Holt Stay said...

PS : the fruit pizza looks delicious.
And I agree that watching your child discover wonderful things is one of the greatest payoffs of parenthood.