A Full, Fun, Fourth

Fourth of July celebration started early at our house, with a neighborhood parade. Mikaela was excited to ride her bike (with training wheels) and Jonathan rode along in his stroller. It was a tough uphill ride for Mikaela – one thing we learned is that she probably needs a bigger bike. Pedaling hard to get up the hill, she tended to pull her rear wheel off the pavement. At the end of the parade, the kids enjoyed ice cream treats. Jon wore an ice cream sandwich, while Mikaela enjoyed a fudgesicle (which she ultimately also shared with Jonathan).

Jonathan took a nice long nap after the parade, and when he woke up, we headed to the Rooks’ for their annual 4th of July pool party. Mikaela and Jonathan both had fun in the pool, and also playing with the passel of other young children in the basement playroom. In a maneuver so carefully planned that Miriam bragged about it to her Special Forces officer buddy Dan, Miriam left the party early while I got Mikaela out of the pool and got both kids fed.

Miriam went ahead to Shawnee Mission Park and got in line for the Theater in the Park production of “Beauty and the Beast.” She battled the 1/4 mile long line and got us a spot right up close to the stage, and kept it staked out until I arrived with the kids. Jonathan proved to be quite the little con man. Before the show, he wandered up to a blanket occupied by three teenage girls and a cake. He flirted until they asked Miriam if it was OK to give Jon a piece of cake. And as soon as he’d shoved the cake into his mouth, Jonathan jumped up and toddled away. He also scored strawberries from the family on our left and an Oreo from the people in front of us.

Once the show started, Mikaela was in heaven. She was particularly fond of the 7-year-old girl who played Chip (and wanted to know when it would be her turn). Even Jonathan liked the show. During the big production numbers, he was completely mesmerized by the dancing. He stood in place and tried to dance along a bit. The fireworks during intermission were very good – the one downside of the great seats to see the show was that the proscenium blocked our view of the fireworks a bit – but Jonathan was oooooooing and ahhhhhhing just the same. Even as it got VERY late, the kids were remarkably well-behaved. We finally had everyone tucked into bed shortly before midnight – exhausted, but happy.