4th of July Weekend

What a great weekend we had! The weather wasn't too hot; Grandma and Grandpa were visiting; and we packed a ton of activity into a few short days.

We started off celebrating Grandpa's birthday:

The kids were clamoring to "help" him eat the cake and open his presents. The Boston cream pie was a huge hit with everyone -- especially the birthday boy!

We also went to a museum, where the kids enjoyed the guitar exhibit:

This picture makes me laugh -- that guitar is so huge on Sweet Pea!

And Grandma got a workout by demonstrating how pulleys work (again, and again, and again):

Daddy showed Sweet Pea how strong air currents can be:

And Grandpa built a castle with CC:

On the 4th of July, we all went to the park to enjoy the relatively cool weather.

Little Man mastered this rope bridge, which impressed me -- it's clearly not meant for 2-year-olds!

After dinner, we let the kids stay up to watch their very first fireworks: an impressive (and not-entirely-legal) display by several of the neighborhood dads. The best part: setting up in the driveway, with the kids in their pajamas, so they could go to bed immediately afterwards!

The kids were justifiably nervous, but were also enthralled by the colors and lights. Overall, the tears were balanced out by the smiles. I was relieved that no one had a full-scale meltdown, and no one seemed traumatized for life.

On Sunday, we said good bye. Big hugs for Grandma and Grandpa when they left for the airport!

Little Man's in there somewhere, too --
see his sandal underneath?