July 4th is typically one of my favorite holidays, but this year it was a bit of a bust. Partly because our town's annual bike parade got rained out.
This was the year our kids were going to ride their Gator in it.
We were cheered up to find out that the parade was to be rescheduled for Labor Day.
So we planned on joining in the parade on Labor Day this year.
It wasn't quite as big of a deal as July 4th (not as many people off for the day, I guess). But our family still had a fun day.
The kids wanted to get candy from the parade, so we met up with friends and watched from our usual spot.
As the end of the parade passed us, Daniel and the boys joined the parade making their way to the golf club.
I have been dealing with some pretty intense hip and back pain and didn't feel up to walking in the parade, so Daniel went with the boys and I drove the car over to meet them.
Daniel actually ended up making a new friend and got a ride in a golf cart while the kids drove ahead of him in their own little vehicle.
Every time we have a little milestone (even one where kids join in a parade for the firs time time), it makes me feel a little weepy.
At the golf club, the Lion's Club had food (it's one of their annual fundraisers) and bouncy houses and lots of fun things for kids.
We enjoyed seeing neighbors and friends and visiting and playing. The weather was perfect today and we were thankful to have Daniel home with us.
Where we live it still doesn't feel like fall (we are wearing shorts most afternoons), but the leaves have finally started to change to brilliant shades of orange, yellow and red. Its one of my favorite times of the year.
Daniel and I have been married for almost 14 years, and in all of that time we have only carved one pumpkin together. We have always bought a pumpkin, and have actually gone to a pumpkin patch every year since having kids, but we haven't made the effort to carve said pumpkins.
To be fair, Daniel hasn't had a lot of time during the last two years to do extra projects like pumpkin carving. He has been at his new job for about a month, and we count our blessings daily now that he has more time to devote to family.
Before kids (and crazy job commitments), I guess we were just lazy in the decorating department. There were several years where we turned off our house lights and hid in our basement on Halloween night.
But that has changed. We are committed to holidays and all of the fun that goes along with them. Including pumpkin carving. As a friend said, now that we have started, there is no turning back.
Earlier this month, I was at the grocery store with our boys and Jack saw a display of small pumpkins and asked to get one. I said sure and we brought it home where he had the idea to paint his pumpkin. While Isaac napped, I set Jack up with the paints and then started cleaning the kitchen.
My back was turned for 5 minutes when I realized that Jack had decided to move from regular painting to finger painting and he had dumped almost all of the paint on the paper.
So I took a deep breath and helped him finish his project (note to self: I need to buy paints to replace what he used up on the pumpkin). He somehow managed to get a ton of paint on that little pumpkin – it took 3 days to fully dry!
Our pumpkin carving experience was a little smoother – we picked up our pumpkin at Old Mcdonald's Farm on Saturday and then carved the pumpkin on Sunday night after supper.
Poor Isaac did not enjoy this experience EXCEPT when he was sitting in Daniel's lap "helping" with the pumpkin, the few minutes he tried sword fighting everyone with a pool noodle, and then finally when he brought me snacks to give him. Isaac and his snacks... I'll leave it at that.
Jack turns 5 next month and he loved this activity. He didn't care to
help with the guts of the pumpkin – he thought that part was too gross, but
he enjoyed the rest of the process.
I had him pick a face from a Google search on my phone and then I quickly drew the face on the pumpkin and then Daniel helped Jack carve it out. Isaac got in the on the carving action a bit, but you can only let a 1.5-year-old wield a cutting tool for so long.
Jack thought it was cool to push the shapes out after they were cut, and was surprised about the candle going inside (evidently we are failing at holidays since he didn't know this).
Pumpkin carving was a bit messy but not nearly as bad as I imagined. I'm glad we carved a pumpkin this year and I'm looking forward to doing again in the future. Hopefully Isaac will have a better time next year.
Jack will probably think this is his own personal holiday activity since we told him that a carved pumpkin is called a "Jack"-o-lantern. Now we just need to get costumes for our boys. Jack says he is going to be a good super hero, but he doesn't know which one yet.
