Fourth of July

Yesterday was the 4th of July, and I got to go to a neat parade in Danville, CA-- about 2 towns down from Walnut Creek. The Danville 4th of July parade is a big deal around here and is about 2 hours long. It seems that the tradition in Danville is for people to leave folding chairs (often a large group of chairs surrounded by string or rope) out in advance to reserve spots along the parade route. Last year, chairs were out 3 days ahead of the parade, which was a bit much according to safety-conscious people, so this year they made a new rule that chairs could not be left out until the night before the parade and hauled away any chairs left out before then. This has been a big local news story since many people got angry. Since I have a lovely rolling chair in the form of my stroller, I did not have to fight for a seat at the parade. Mommy, Daddy and I were able to find a place to perch between 2 big groups of chairs and we could see everything just fine.

Most people at the parade were wearing red, white, and blue clothes, and I was no exception. I wore my red, white and blue gingham sunsuit and hat. While I did not like some of the loud noises at the parade, I did like some of the goodies I received from parade marchers- bottled water, a sports bottle, a police sticker and tatoos, a little flag, and my favorites, 2 balloons and a mini-soccer ball. I also enjoyed seeing the animals in the parade (horses, dogs, a goat, and a duck), looking at the floats (one from NBC had a small version of a helicopter on it!), and the silly marchers-- especially the lawn mower and shopping cart brigades. I also clapped and waved for the Pearl Harbor survivors, who waved back. The parade was long and I was very tired since it ran up to my naptime, so we left a little early. I fell asleep on the way home, but I woke up getting out of the car and was too excited to fall back asleep. I went in my wading pool in the late afternoon, and then went to bed an hour early and slept through the night. Mommy and Daddy tell me that they cooked out after I went to sleep and then watched fireworks on TV. Real fireworks are too loud for me.

You can see photos of me on the 4th of July here. Auntie Max should note that in one photo Daddy is wearing the Hawaiian shirt she gave him about 10 years ago (the Christmas that she gave Aloha shirts all around).

New second cousin

Mommy's cousin became a daddy the other day, so I have a new cousin. She is a baby girl named Chloe, and she lives in Philadelphia with her parents, Eugene and Amy. I like her name since I already have a friend named Chloe!