4th of July

We spent this 4th of July with dear family friends a few hours away in Galena, Illinois. We started the day with the drive out there, and then met up at a great little water park. It had a small kiddie area, a zero-depth pool that only got about four feet deep before it was roped off for a deeper section at a diving board, and a big twisty slide in between. It was the prefect size for us, big enough for some variety, but small enough that when Ali literally spent two hours going down the slide over and over again we could be at either the pool or the kiddie place and still keep an eye on her. After the pool we played at a park and had a yummy dinner, and then off to the main event: the rodeo!

We got to ride in a horse-drawn-cart from where we parked to the ticket gate. We were the first ones in and so were sitting right by the driver, and when the driver invited a guy walking by to "Climb on up," Logan thought he meant that Logan could climb up into the driver's seat with him and climbed right up! The driver was nice enough to not only let him stay, but to let Ali come up too!

It is safe to say the treats and glow sticks/bracelets/necklaces/swords were the kids' favorite part, but they also loved the bull riding, the rodeo clown, and the fireworks.

The rodeo went pretty long this year, and we'd had a long day out in the sun, so some little ones fell asleep towards the end. But everyone was really happy and cooperative all day long, which is quite impressive I thought. It was a great day and a fun way to celebrate our nation's birthday: family, friends, fireworks, and a rodeo:)