4th of July Festivities

We celebrated the 4th in style this year. We started off by tubing the Guadalupe and eating at the Gristmill in Gruene the day before. I missed not having the boys with us, but we had an awesome time. Our tubes were covered in cloth, so they were perfect, the water was nice and cool, the trip was nice and shaded, we even had showers at the end, and then we ate at the Gristmill before heading home. On the morning of the 4th, the kids decorated their wagon for the annual 4th of July parade. Rowan rode on Uncle Chad's shoulders, Hayden threw necklaces and 4th of July tootsie rolls from the wagon, and Ally (Andy & Jill's dog) won the most patriotic dog contest. Afterwards, we played in the park, enjoyed the carnival-type activities, and we were even hosed down by the firetruck. We then made cupcakes and went swimming at Grandmama's house. At around 5, we went to my brother Chad's house and ate BBQ, played with the slip-n-slide, karaoked, played volleyball, etc. We were able to see both the Leander & Cedar Park fireworks shows when the sun went down, but Chad's neighbor's show beat them both. They had to have spent about $25k on fireworks. They probably would have gone all night if the Fireman hadn't made them stop. Afterwards, Lou & Craig spun some records while people danced and played ping-pong. It was a great 4th of July!!