4th of July: Summer at its best!

I love "4th of July" in Wyoming!  It is so, so, so much fun- in a small town sorta way.  And of course I might mention- the parade goes right in front of our house- now hows that for a celebration! But before I talk about the "4th of July" and the visit by Brandy et al and Amber et al, let me tell you about my PROJECT!
I got a little carried away.  The story starts in San Fran. Don I would often visit the open air market across from the Ferry Building.  Sometimes Don would even surprise me when I got home from work with jewelry he'd find at the market during his daily lunch walks!  Now that was wonderful!  But in addition to the gifts of jewelry from the market, I found some delightful clothes for children- "homemade" clothes- so appealing with their "quilted" appearance.  I'd look at them each trip and think- "maybe I can do this".  Well this was the year!  I'm retired- and now was the time! It started as a 4th of July outfit for Mikayla- and then I thought- well maybe I can do a top for Brandy- and then well- I couldn't leave Will out!!!???!!!

So I cut squares- 600 plus squares! And then sewed the squares into a dress for Mikayla, a top for Brandy and shorts for Will.

And I did it! Now it does always help to have Don in the background mumbling... Such a doubter he is!

Drum Roll Please...

But let me start at the beginning- not the beginning of the project- the beginning of the celebration! Now I'm not confused- Cincinnati is not the summer vacation destination for most- but my, oh, my- how much fun I have when the kids- and the "grands" find their way for a summer visit.  And having the visit over the "4th of July" is icing on the cake!

Summers in Cincy are about a trip to the zoo...Just for a slight detour down memory lane- Brandy's birthday is in June- and every year on her birthday from her 1st through her 19 just before she left for the Air Force Academy- we would take a trip to the zoo- the first in Hawaii- then one year in New Orleans- and finally many, many in Oklahoma.  This was the first trip with Brandy with my newest Grand- Mikayla! 

So we were off.  Of course we had to pause just a bit for a little tidying up.. Good job Daddy!

Now Mikayla's favorite animals- were the goats in the petting zoo.  The goats had been Brandy's favorite as well! I'll never forget the infamous moment at the San Diego Zoo when I turned just in time to see Brandy plant a BIG KISS on a little goat's butt- just showing her love!

Now Mikayla wasn't into any of the kissing- but she did "warm" to the idea of little touches...

And she is not at all fond of the snakes...Grandpa sure agrees with her on that one!

A good time was had by all! Especially Grama!

And Grandpa was a good sport despite his decidedly less enthusiasm for zoos!

Our serious baby!

And of course you can't come to Grama's without a trip to the local bakery!  For a cookie!  And this was Mikala's first trip!

And we found time for a trip to the Cincinnati Children's Museum (I might brag a bit here- it's ranked in the top 10 in the US since it's open in 1998! Amber's love of museums was nurtured here as one of this museum's very first teenage volunteers!) Now I have to apologize ahead of time for pictures at the museum.  It is really difficult to get good pictures at the museum- the lighting isn't perfect- and the kids are in constant motion- and not all interested in "pausing" for photo ops- but I tried!

We did finish at the ice cream shop!  Yum!

Notice the Rookwood Pottery Wall behind Brandy and Mikayla!

Now what would summer be without the POOL!  And we were off- again and again.  We love to go to the POOL!

Mikayla loves the POOL!  And so does her Mommy and Daddy!

And of course Grama was never far away!

And Amber and Evan tried the slide!

Evan is the last- he goes down too fast to photograph at the end.

And check out the "mother/daughter" look!  I love it!

And we had a barbeque- hamburgers/hotdogs/bean burgers- tons of salads- And the best part- Great friends and family! Though most of the following pictures are of the party- some are of the 4th of July Parade that goes right in front of our house!  We have the parade in the morning and then the party in the evening- before the younger ones left off for the fireworks!  What a wonderful place to live!

I bet you're wishing you could have been at our house for this 4th of July!