I know all children are pests, figuratively speaking, at one time or another. I think it is somehow worked into the definition of being a child., but my children were literally pests for the 4th of July parade. We often go to Alamo (my home town) for the 4th and enjoy the small town celebration. Every year my kids beg to be in the parade and I usually talk them out of it. This year the pressure from my husband and children was too much. We took this opportunity to advertise for our new Business, Abbott Pest Control so Josie was a scorpion, Wyatt was a black widow spider, Waylan was a red ant, Colt was a skunk, Savvy was a ladybug, and Flint was a honey bee. Since the theme of the parade was "Under the Sea" we tweaked it and came up with "Under the 'Sea'nk". I like being in parades about as much as I like hosting garage sales. . . . .I would rather do anything but clean bathrooms, go to the dentist, or potty train two year olds! As much as I was dreading the parade, I ended up loving it! If a picture is worth a thousand words then here I am enjoying my job of driving the float!
I didn't have to worry about corralling my kids in and keeping them from running into the street after the candy. Plus my kids were so happy to be in the parade and to have so much candy at their disposal! ( I found them all pulling out their private stash from their pockets after the parade was over.) Sometimes I build things up in my head to be worse than they are.
The annual 4th of July 5k was the highlight for me. I ran it in 22:18 which is my personal best time ever on a 5k. My daughter Josie also ran it and I am so proud of her. Maybe we can get the whole family out next year. It was fun to have my sister Lynette, my sister-in-law Amy with her two girls Melissa and MyKayla, and many other friends.
We stayed and enjoyed the other games and festivities including the money spray. Waylan and Josie were both able to scrape in over a dollar,Wyatt and Colt had a good time too, but Savvy wanted nothing to do with it.
In the afternoon we drove back to Henderson. We enjoyed fajitas (Garth Abbott style-- if you haven't had them you have no idea what you are missing). All of the Abbott's were together along with my sister-in-laws family from California. Jason and Susana have the pool so of course the summer parties are at their house. My good friend Michelle and her husband Jason were so kind to supply us with an awesome amount of fireworks. I personally don't care for fireworks---I was badly burned by sparklers as a child and still haven't fully recovered. My husband on the other hand would spend his last dollar to ensure a good fireworks display--this stems from his childhood when he would work all summer long to blow all he earned on fireworks. I confess that I spent most of the fireworks time in the house with my two youngest!
I am so grateful for the sacrifices of our forefathers who gave so much for the freedoms that we enjoy. I am also grateful for the sacrifices of all those who continue to defend our freedoms. I love this country!
