A Different July 4th

It's cloudy and 57 degrees, with a 50% chance of rain. And it's July 4th. Bummer!

The past few years have been so hot for Independence Day that this year is a let-down. But we made the most of it by... going to Canada? No, not really. We just went to the beautifully landscaped park at the border crossing. We walked over to the Canadian side, let the kids run around on the grass, and enjoyed the pretty flowers.

Henry and me next to the Giant Rhubarb. Henry was sure to point out that it's inedible.

We were freezing at this point with the wind off the bay. Brrr.. We enjoyed our picnic lunch and then went in to Blaine to watch the parade.

We've been taking the kids to the Blaine July 4th Parade for many years. Wouldn't be July 4th without it! It's the favorite parade because the parade participants throw out candy to the kids. There are several other local parades throughout the year that ban candy - but not this one. The kids came home with a huge sack of it - oh goody, now we'll have hard candy to decorate our gingerbread house in December! Hee, hee...

We all enjoyed a little shaved ice in red, white, and blue.This was funny. There was a float for the USPS. A guy, dressed as a box, asked Alice's name. Then he exclaimed, "Alice?!! I have a package for you!" He ran back to the USPS truck and brought out this box, special delivery for Alice. It had crayons in the box. The kids thought that was pretty special. Thank you Post Master General!

We're leaving in about an hour to go to a friend's house for a BBQ and fireworks. Looking forward to it and hoping that the rain holds off. The weather forecast reports that summer will officially begin on July 5th. Perfect!