The Fourth

Now that Seth's old enough to actually enjoy all the activities, we decided to do it all this year!

First, we braved the ridiculously hot weather for the Bel Air parade.

Seth loved it:

Catherine, too:

Seriously, they loved it:

(I can't remember what was driving past at this point, 

but it was loud enough to call for an ear-covering plus a dive underneath Daddy's legs)

Decorating Seth's hair with mulch

Catherine has the best seat in the house

(and yes, her 12 month clothes are still falling off of her)

Want to know how to cover your ears while eating an ice-cream sandwich?

Well, here you go:

Seth honestly did enjoy the parade, even if parts were a little loud for him.

Catherine...tolerated it.

After the parade we risked the wrath of sleep-deprived children and went to watch fireworks.

First, we did our own:

Stomping on 'poppers'

"Where'd it go?"

Then it was on to more dangerous things--sparklers:

This was the first year he wasn't afraid of them

Catherine wasn't afraid either.  

In fact, she was TOO excited and was banned from holding them: 

"Mommy, can you take a picture of me doing this?"

Check.

Two babies swinging, waiting for fireworks to start: 

As it turned out, the illegal fireworks launched by people in the neighborhood were way more interesting than the actual show.  About ten minutes into it we loaded up the kids and headed home.

Happy Fourth of July!