Happy Birthday America – 232 years old. We’ve had a flag-waving, parade-watching day that started off with rain threatening the Marshfield parade. Fortunately it only sprinkled on the festivities and Julia and Lydia sat on a blanket at the edge of the parade route for 2 hours absolutely riveted by the procession of veterans, tractors, politicians, one band, tons of Shriners (including Papa Burl on his mini-cruiser) and finally the horses which had Lydia yelling “Neigh, neigh – more horsies, more horsies!” Who knew watching a parade was the answer to how to keep two little bundles of energy quiet – they only moved to grab the candy thrown at them by the parade participants.
Later this afternoon Julia was able to get back in the pool for a while when it warmed up and then we enjoyed a fabulous meal - Burl fixed fresh green beans with new potatoes, onions and bacon; Steve and Tammy made a fabulous salad with homemade dressing, poached pears, pecans and bleu cheese; and Steve grilled bacon-wrapped pork filets. Quite tasty plus we had fresh peaches and cream corn-on-the-cob too.
This evening we introduced our kids to Mexican Train dominoes and I predict this game will become a standby when we get together with Tammy and Steve – and I’m sure when they get really good at the game they can make up their own rules too! Even though we’ve had fireworks going off all around us – and we can glimpse the ones from Hickory Hills Country Club and James River Assembly – we have stayed inside to avoid the mosquitoes and to keep Mulligan calm.
The best part of the last few days has been having Ralph, Julia and Lydia here – and especially being entertained by them. Even though Lydia is now 2, Ralph has kept her in the pack-n-play when she visits despite Lydia being prone to protesting in the middle of the night. On Wednesday night Ralph decided that if Lydia awoke and cried, she was going to let her cry it out which she did. However, Lydia managed to get out of her mesh cage (along with her stuffed kitty, binky and 2 blankets) and slept in the big bed in that bedroom and then locked herself in the room by morning! Good thing Papa Burl knew just where to find the key to release her while we all had a good laugh.
After escaping her pack-n-play, Ralph wasn’t sure what to do with her last night. She finally let the girls fall asleep together in the bed where Julia sleeps and they both slept all night long and were so cute together - and that’s where they are tonight. Not sure what Ralph will do when they get home but I’m betting Lydia won’t relish being back in her crib any longer. Ralph has been sharing with us that Lydia has an independent streak but I’m not sure any of us realized how true that statement was – it’s “Independence” day for her every day!
