July 4th Weekend

Anna, Aunt Mary & Aunt Loren
It was an All American July 4th weekend - complete with barbecues, parades, and fireworks.  As a special treat, Aunt Loren and Aunt Mary came down from New York to join in the July 4th festivities with Anna.
Enjoying ice cream with Aidan at the July 4th parade

After a week of what seemed like monsoon season, Washington returned to its hot and humid July self.  The festivities began July 3 (after a massive downpour) with the neighborhood block party.  The highlight for Anna was the moonbounce.  The party ended with bang for Theresa and Joe after witnessing a Chevy suburban full of teenagers (including a new driver) run into a parked car....and leave the scene.  Theresa and Anna walked back to the scene about 15 minutes later only to find the teenagers parking nearby.  After Theresa confronted them and the girl confessed, she left a note for the owner of the vehicle.  The next day, Theresa located the owner to make sure they got the information, only to discover that the girl had removed the note, made up a big story for her mother about another car hitting the vehicle before her mother finally became suspicious and the girl confessed (in the meantime, the girl had also given Theresa a fake name).  There were numerous lessons for Anna in all of this - mainly don't lie and DEFINITELY don't lie in the neighborhood.  You will always get caught.

Ready for the bike parade with neighbor, Argin
July 4th began with the annual Fairfax City parade, which is always a treat.  There were numerous bands, including a kazoo band, old cars, dance troupes, clowns (some that were not politicians), and Theresa's favorite - the county librarians and their library cart drill team.  Sue, Aidan, and Baby Zoe joined in the festivities, which of course included ice cream.

That afternoon was the neighborhood bike parade.  Joe helped Anna decorate her bike for the parade, complete with a pinwheel.  The parade was followed by pool games (Anna made 80 cents diving for money in the pool).  In between, Aunt Mary and Aunt Loren arrived bearing gifts (New York bagels and Italian cookies - delicious) and were able to join in for the City of Fairfax Fireworks.

Friday, Anna's aunts got to watch her swim practice.  Joe was the "parent on deck," and his sisters made sure he wore the highly visible orange vest.  The rest of the day was spent lounging around the pool.  Aunt Loren taught Anna how to knit.  Anna is now working on her first scarf.  This of course involved a trip to Michael's (one of Anna's favorite stores) to get more yarn so she could start a different color.  You can never have too much yarn!

Thanks Aunt Loren and Aunt Mary for making the trip down!

Sue & Baby Zoe at July 4th parade







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