Sunday, July 6, 2008

Happy 4th of July



We had a really fun 4th of July weekend. It was nice that the holiday fell on a Friday, so we were able to enjoy a 3 day weekend as a family together. Saturday was a fairly typical day for us- we were a bit tired out from Friday, but we still managed to have a full day. I have decided that it is much easier to bike now than to run, so I actually pulled Keira with my mountain bike in our trailer at Maybury. I got some funny looks followed by relief as I rode up to the mountain bike trailhead to see Ryan off before continuing with my ride on the pavement. I am sure I looked like a safety nightmare with my big belly and trailer, especially at the thought of riding on the Maybury trail. I rode for about a half hour towing Keira while Ryan completed the trail. My road bike is just not comfortable to ride ride now.

After our ride at Maybury, we went to the pool. Keira had a good time swimming with Ryan and enjoyed imitating him as he laid in the sun to dry off a bit before heading home.


For the actual 4th of July, we had a pretty big day. We started the day going to downtown Northville for the parade, where I had the genius idea to park at Hillside Middle School, which is, if you couldn't guess, on a HUGE hill. It is where I would start/finish running with the Northville Road Runners. Needless to say, we passed many other parking areas as we walked our mile or so into downtown Northville, and no one else was parked near us at all when we returned to the car. We were able to get a decent spot along the parade route, and saw a family from church- Carlos was in the parade with St Mary Mercy Hospital, and his family was right behind us! We enjoyed the multiple flyovers at the parade as well. I made a slide show of the parade pictures. Some are more exciting than others.





After the parade, we came home and grilled out and let Keira nap before heading to Kensington Metropark for the fireworks. We had hoped to grab some food at the farm, but the grill there was closed. We did have a great time at the farm, though. My camera battery died here, so the shots are from my cell phone, which works surprisingly well with a lot of light, and has its own little memory stick that goes into our computer. Keira was very afraid of the pigs when they got close, but was excited to touch the new calf. This calf was born just a couple weeks ago.

After the farm, we started our quest for food. We new that there were some snack bars at the beaches. I am so glad that we grilled our burgers at home instead of packing up a picnic to grill there. It was packed with "professional" picnickers! I don't think I have ever seen anything like it. There would have been no finding an unoccupied grill since we don't have our own portable grill. People had brought out tents, tables, huge grills, chafing dishes, and everything imaginable to the park. Now, we are campers, not picnickers. In hindsight, we could have made a mean backpackers pantry or mountain house meal on our campstove, and it would have all fit into a small backpack instead of needing to bring a motorhome with us to the park, like some people did. We were able to grab some hotdogs and pretzels at the Maple Beach area, but decided to go to an area of the park with less amenities to park our truck (for the 3rd time) and get out our bikes. Ryan pulled Keira around in the trailer and we were able to find a play structure and swings for her to play on, which made her happy. She was really having a hard time at the beach areas because we wouldn't let her play because it was just too crowded to let her run around. Once we arrived back at our truck, we ran into a different family from church. Ryan played indoor soccer with Merigay, and I also knew her well from her involvement in Primary. We were able to set up our chairs and blankets with them. Her husband has already moved to Texas, so it was nice to be able to spend some time with her and her 4 girls before they move as well. Her girls also kept Keira occupied while we waited for the fireworks to start. The fireworks were really great. They were being shot off from an island on the lake just in front of us. At some points, they almost seemed too bright! Merigay really had found a great spot! Keira did really well, she didn't get scared, but she was tired, so she spent the show snuggling with Ryan. It took us a while to get home, but it was definitely worth it.




As for the week leading up the 4th, Keira and I had a pretty fun week. We went to the pool several times. Here is a super cute shot of Keira in her not so itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini! It was a present from Lucy. Keira loves it because it has a skirt and bows. She is such a girly girl already!
We also got together with Lisa and Dominic at the mall. We had planned to go to their pool, but the weather wasn't nice enough. I didn't take any pictures, but here is a picture of Keira and Dominic from last week at the Novi Sports Park, since I didn't add any photos from last week.

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