The Firecracker 5K and Fireworks!

Having spent the last nine summers up at Interlochen (where the 4th of July passes just like any other day), and having spent the six summers before that in Germany, the 4th of July is one of the few holidays we Kennedys don't really celebrate.  However, with the advent of Rebecca (and Ethan and Baby and Brother) coming for the 4th of July weekend, and knowing that the 4th of July is her favorite holiday, you better believe that we had to make some Kennedy plans!  I knew she was hoping for fireworks, a cook-out and a parade.

Baby & Company arrived late on the night of the 3rd.  I had bought enough patriotic Gap clothing to clothe them for the following four days so we had to have a "fashion show" with Baby before they climbed into bed!  Daddy put on "Fancy" (#IggyAzalea), and I cleared off the coffee table.  It was hilarious!  Baby popped right up there and showed off all her new fun clothes...complete with hand on hip and some epic hip movement ;-). Brother, of course, had to climb up as well, and between his tank top onesie, and his baby Birk sandals, he became known for the rest of the week as "El Greco" ;-)

However, we had to get to bed soon, because the next morning was the Firecracker 5K!  And yes, we had to assure John that there was no longer distance, because after any 5K, he has to just keep on running to get the rest of his miles in for the day ;-). Cheese was trying to beat 24:00, Rebecca had a goal of 33:00, John wanted to place in his age group, and Miss Fun Buns was going to run in her official first race--a full MILE!  Since we didn't really want Baby to run herself for an entire mile through the streets of Ann Arbor (being the fearful little munchkin she can be, and being the responsible adults we are), I signed up for the mile as well and prayed that the pneumonia would be well-corralled so I would be able to finish the distance with her.

I have to say, Baby was so well-prepared.  Ethan and Rebecca have been taking her running almost every day, and I've been running with her before--I knew she could cover the distance.  The question was, would she do it with me?  And as a reminder for posterity, she is only three years old!

So we all got dressed and ready and headed downtown.  Easy parking and easy starting line.  I saw the real runners off first, and then Baby, Brother (in an umbrella stroller, no less) and I started running.  I was a little bit intimidated with all the other parents pushing running strollers, but there wasn't much time to worry when Baby just started running.

And in beautiful, runner form, she just kept going.  I was worried that I would need to entertain her along the way with songs, or that I would need to be a cheerleader, but all I did was show her one green light, and she set her own goals to get to the next one.  And on one side of the block, we admired ourselves running in the store windows.  But when we caught sight of the finish line (at the end of another block), I didn't need to do anything else but watch her pull out in front of me.  She ran the full, solid mile all herself.  I could hardly believe it.  She was AMAZING!

I mean, LOOK at her! 

Little Top Knot--she made it!

And it being the Firecracker 5K, we celebrated her victory with a Firecracker popsicle!

I'm not sure what Baby is going to do when she runs her next race, and there isn't a Firecracker popsicle at the end.

And plums. Lots and lots of plums...for Brother ;-). Yep, he had sat in the stroller so well that he downed four entire plums himself!  We had to worry when he seemed to be really enjoying one, and we discovered that the pit was rather soothing to an emerging tooth or two!

I think this is Plum #3 ;-)

Everybody met their goals (hooray, Rebecca, who has been running for several weeks in a row now, and with all her athlete potential, will no doubt be setting many more records in the future!), with John placing third (he was even finisher 55 out of 850!) While John went and finished his miles, we took up spots on the curb along the parade route (which just so happened to be feet away from the end-of-the-race treats so we took multiple helpings).

The parade started soon, and in true form to Ann Arbor, it was full of liberals and democrats.  Being a democrat myself, I don't want to be too critical, but goll-EE, it was hilarious to see the Bernie Sanders supporters walking by in their hippie clothes and long hair.  Granola all the way, baby.  And the white democratic candidate who looked very respectable, and who had all white constituents walking with him, but then had the token African American kid sticking close to him? ;-). And the Chinese protestors whom Ethan recognized from the National Mall who are constantly protesting there (although I had to give them mad props for their costumes and drums).  Even the Cub Scouts, whom I wanted to cheer on, had girls walking in their ranks.  Needless to say, I cheered for the Girl Scouts whom I have never supported but who have stuck to their guns and not admitted boys ;-). I do believe the Ann Arbor Baptist Church was the only conservative group in the parade, but seeing as Baptists generally demean and hate Mormons, it was hard to even get behind them.  But Baby went home with candy, and we got to see the police on horses and motorcycles, and the big fire trucks.

Lollie even bought Baby a
Star-Spangled swimsuit!

I've always told people that I don't mind summer, but again, that comment harkens back to summers spent in Northern Michigan and Germany.  I haven't felt a REAL summer in years, and let me tell you, I do NOT enjoy it.  I never complain with rain, or snow, or cold, or any other weather, but the weather here (heat + humidity) is miserable.  Thankfully, there is once again a silver lining to the cloud of our lives in that our apartment has a beautiful, full-size pool!  We could hardly get home fast enough to change out of our sweaty clothes into our suits and jump in.  Oh goodness, it reminded me of the many summers I spent in Tallahassee as a child, going swimming daily to find relief from the heat.  And I reminded John, once again, that I want to have a pool for our grand babies....

John and I were ready for a nap along with the babies, but Ethan had made a strong case for not napping over the course of the weekend.  In his words, with 2+ hour naps each day, we would lose seven and a half hours of time to naps, and nobody would have a leg to stand on when we complained that we hadn't had time to play games.  So, John and I took a quick nap, and then got up to play Keltis (John won all the games....)

With all the extra time Poppie has had,
he replaced the blown fuse in Greenie
so the DVD players work again.  Baby
was more than happy to watch Cinderella...
while holding her Texas Roadhouse french
fries...in her popsicle t-shirt :-)

That night, we had big plans.  Last year, we drove to Greenfield Village and watched the Detroit Symphony Orchestra perform along with one of the Air Force bands before being treated to live cannon fire during Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, and then a 30 minute fireworks show.  The rain was stayed so I bought the tickets, we caught some dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and we barely made it before the concert began.  It was just as beautiful as last year, sitting on the lawn, listening to a world class orchestra, watching the sunset, although this time we were with the babies, and I was missing my own baby who came with us last year.  Rebecca was seriously so scared just anticipating the cannon fire, and both Ethan and Rebecca were worried about Brother's reaction to the fireworks, but it all turned out great.  In fact, both Baby and Brother are huge fans of the fireworks, and Baby made several friends while waiting for the concert to begin (they were little black girls, and once again I was jealous that I don't have a black friend).

I am so thankful for our country.  It makes me proud to think that many of my ancestors were here before the Declaration of Independence was signed, and certainly I hope they weren't siding with the British ;-). It's a great place to live, and I'm not sure I always fully appreciate what we have here, so it's good to be reminded with a very happy, celebratory day.