Happy 5th of July!!

Yesterday was too beautiful and too long to put any pictures up, so Happy 5th and here are some pictures from our 4th of July.

A bit of background:
Sophie has been under the weather for a couple of days and not sleeping too well (she is MUCH better now), plus she hates hates hates fireworks, which go on pretty much 24/7 around here for about a week.  That makes for not good sleep for any of us.  All weekend we have been enjoying ourselves quietly, and not really planning anything...

HOWEVER...
We thought, "Hey, when you have grandchildren, you do things you never thought you would do."  One thing we have never done (because usually it is pouring rain and about 36 degrees out) is go downtown and watch the Everett 4th of July Parade.

WELL!  I can now cross that off my bucket list.

We took Charlie (Grace, like Sophie, has been under the weather, too, but she is better, also) and made a morning of it.  I was proud of Ed - NOT a crowds/DisneyWorld/family reunion/state fair kind of guy - but he went, and we all had a great time.

Enjoy the pix, and Happy Birthday, USA!

Not in any particular order...

Old Glory...literally.  I need to fix this flag, but am hesitant because it is very special to us...this is the flag I hung up when Alison joined the Army, and it NEVER came down (I know, against all protocol, but I don't care) until the day she was fully discharged.  This is our Remembrance Flag.  

Hmmm...matching shorts and stroller.  Nice!

This was at the end of the parade...someone needs a nap!
So, I went home and had one.  :)

From the Cadet band, 9 times world champions, from PA???  Not sure where.

Loved these little dancing girls!

Watching so seriously!

All I can say is...hmmm, okkkaaaayyy...some sort of Roller Derby Club.  

And this one is for Grandad Strode, Ed's Grandpa.  His old Farmall exactly like this one is still at the ranch.  Well, not EXACTLY like this one...his needs some serious paint work!  (PS and don't read this to Charlie: This is the tractor model we got him for his birthday, coming up so so soon!)

For so many reasons, this is one of my favorite pictures from the day...This is the Chinese Girls Drill Team.  They were gorgeous, and even had three dragons in their part of the parade.
I love this girl--her dress, the feathers on her headress, the way she is leading the group, and the flag in her hand.
It says so much!
I will do another post with more pix of this group.  I just loved them.

I added this because this group was one of the most creatively unusual...in case you can't tell,
she is a marionette "puppet"...very good, too!

Forgot they throw candy!  "Grandma, does candy have sugar?"  (He's on a "watch the sugar intake" program. :)

For Aaron.

From a Filipino group.

Best seat in the house.

Paying the vigilantes...who were really collecting money for kid's programs.  He got a button, which he still had on when we went over later in the day to watch fireworks.

Ready for the action.  We were going to bring the wagon, but Charlie loves our stroller...it has a CUP HOLDER!!

The Cadet band from PA??? practicing on the lawn of Everett High School.  My goodness, they were amazingly good!

This was a fun day!  In the evening, we went over to Aaron and Erin's and watched the Everett City fireworks show.  It is down on the flats by the marina, but you can see most of the show from their front porch...no crowds and hot coffee!  Couldn't be better.

Love to all, and enjoy your freedom!