Happy 4th of July!

We had a house full of dogs and Werner was out of town, so I wanted to stay close to home. We had a quiet day of church, and naps, and playing Chutes and Ladders, and then headed to the Tolleson celebration.

It was in a much more Hispanic part of town, so there was no ice cream for sale (but there was fry bread! and burritos!) so we got shaved ice that turned the kids' mouths a charming shade of blue. They were giving away watermelon and Rand proudly grabbed the biggest piece he could see. Ella declined hers in favor of more shaved ice.

We met up with some friends, and the kids played on the playground. Ella was given a glowstick, which she thought was unbelievably fantastic. The weather was great -- for Phoenix in July -- only 100 degrees! They both loved the fireworks. Rand asked a million questions (would a firework pop a balloon? are the firework guys only awake at night? what is all that smoke? what is faster, a firework or a racecar?).

Ella clung to me at first, but then she relaxed and just wanted me to hold her. When they were over, she was positively pouty and kept saying, "Fireworks! Back on!" We walked back to our car and patiently made it through the traffic back home. Ella fell asleep in the car, but when I picked up her to move her to her bed, she sat up and said, "Fireworks....." and then put her head back on my shoulder.