{belated} 4th of July

I grew up in a family that loves traditions, which I hope to pass on to my kids as well. I'm not opposed to trying out new things, of course, but I also love the comfort and anticipation of knowing what events are to come. 4th of July is one of these times! I grew up in Springdale, Oregon...never heard of it? Gee, why not? Since it's all of about 5 blocks long? :-) You know, it's that 1/2 mile gap in between Troutdale and Corbett. Growing up, I wasn't a big fan of living in Hickville USA, but now that I'm older I can appreciate it a little more...it's a little piece of the peaceful country life but just 20 minutes from downtown Portland. Every year Corbett hosts the quintessential small-town parade, complete with cool vintage cars, kids on decorated bicycles, tractors, horses leaving their treats all over the road, etc. Last year Maddie rode with Papa on the tractor in the parade. This year Papa drove the Yurf Dog {a crazy name for an oversized wanna-be-dump-truck golf cart} and pulled a wagon for us to ride in.

{getting ready at my parents' house; our ride is all decked out with decorations,
candy, comfy cushions, blankets, and lots of kid snacks for the long ride}

{Maddie's buddy Lucy Newell, who wanted to ride with us...until the engine started and she freaked out and began crying and screaming to get out. Maybe we'll try again next year!}

It was supposed to be filled with about 6-7 of our friends' kids, but lots of them chickened out at the last minute, so it ended up being me, Maddie, my cousin Thane from Seattle and his two boys Ethan and Avery. The parade is known for one thing...CANDY! I swear, the kids get more than at Halloween. {In fact, Alli's girls didn't want to ride in the parade because they'd miss out on the candy collection!}. Maddie and the boys were so gung-ho about the candy throwing that we pretty much ran out of the TEN POUNDS of hard candy I'd bought after, oh, the first 3-4 blocks of the parade! Note to self: next year buy *double* the candy! :-)

{James' first 4th of July and my just-go-with-it husband sporting a very patriotic hat}

{Alli's daughter Ava, who is always the Fashionista! Check out those shoes!}

{Foreground: Alli's toothless daughter Macy :-)
Background: My cousin-in-law Amy (married to Thane) and daughter Hadley}

{The parade has started--bring on the candy chucking!}