Fourth of July

When we got dressed on the 4th we found patriotic shirts for the kids to wear, and Taipan was really tickled that he was dressed "the same as the American flag". We really have my sister to thank for hooking the kids up with their t-shirts.

Yuta's sister and her fiance drove to Cleveland from Pittsburgh for the day, and after having a nice BBQ at my in-laws' house around lunchtime, the kids both took a two-hour nap. They woke up around 6:30, which meant that they would be awake late enough to see fireworks. And while they were sleeping I got to go to Target. Alone! Woo-hoo. And just so you know, Target is dead on the fourth of July; a perfect day to shop.

We met some friends at the Tri-C campus in Parma around 9:30, and waited for it to get dark. The sun sets pretty late this time of year, and the fireworks didn't start until after 10. While we were waiting the kids ran around the big field and we played a bit of ring around the rosie. It was kind of nerve wracking as it got dark out because it was hard to keep track of the little kids. Next year we're bring glow sticks or necklaces or something.

I was curious to see how all of the kids would do - our friends have a 3.5 yo & a 2 yo, and all four of the kids were fine with the fireworks. Taipan & his friend (who happens to have the same exact birthday as him) really liked watching them. For Taisim and the 2 yo it was more or less background.







Yuta took a ton of pictures and video, and Taipan likes to watch the video of the fireworks. We got home around 11:30ish, so it was good that the kids had that nap.