4th of July

I'll backtrack as best as I can remember. ...Fourth of July.

YAY for USA! :)
Every fourth of July that I've spent in California has started at 5:50am when I wake the kids up and go to the park. I've taken the kids every year, even when Michaela was less than a year old. ...probably because I used to live right on the edge of downtown and I was around the corner from the park where all the fun happens. It made me happy to take Andrea here for her first Fourth of July too.My plan is usually to go when it begins at 6:00am and try and leave before noon when the temperature reaches a toasty warm40+ degrees. :) At 6:00am they have about ten hot air balloons take off from the park. You can watch everyone roll them out and blast them full of hot air. It's neat to see them just "pop" up into a standing position and to then start to hover off the ground right before the float away, each with a few people in it.

After the balloons float away in the blue sky, we go take our place in line for the "Pancake Truck" to get our pancake breakfast!! This is why, last year when I was in Denmark, I invited all my friends over on the Fourth of July and made them all AMERICAN pancakes for breakfast. :) For a few dollars you get a couple HUGE pancakes, sausage, milk, juice and a nice seat at a table in the park.

Here is a picture of sausage. It is NOT a hot dog. It does not taste like a hot dog, it tastes like a sausage. Can you imagine eating a hot dog for breakfast? NO, because sausage is NOT A HOT DOG. It does not resemble a hot dog in any way other than it's similar shape. P.S. REAL Sausage is NOT found in Denmark.
While on the topic of sausage... Aneta, here is a picture the "Polish Sausage" I told you about. :) Not sure if you had these in Poland. :)

After pancakes we play at the park for a while and then walk over and find a place to watch the parade. The kids love the parade because they throw candy at you. :) Go America. :) The girls quickly showed Scotty how to chase after the "good" pieces of candy.

By the time the parade is done it's around 10:00am and so we walk back to the "Party at the Park" and ride the overpriced rides and eat snow cones. :) They have concerts and games and rides and things to buy all day long until the fireworks go off but we are sissys and went back home to take a break from the heat. Michaela chose to wait in line for AN HOUR to have her turn to bounce in the air. I promised a movie of it on "the blog". It's hilarious to see her little body flopping up into the air HIGHER than anyone else flopped.


The firework show may not have lasted as long as the six hour free for all that happens in Denmark on New Year's Eve, but I thought it was impressive. I thought I may be disappointed or even laugh at it, but I liked it. Scotty liked it. Andrea wasn't even scared. Nana and Papa liked it. Michaela and Sierra were with their dad to see the night time show.... but they had a good time too.

NEXT....