More Fourth!

These are not the best photos from our Fourth of July adventures. I guess we were too hot and busy to focus on documentation. But here are some cute shots from the Palisades parade. It's right down the road from our house and a fun mix of small-town Americana and crazy big-city D.C.

Noah and kids watching the extravaganza:

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V and me:

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Calvin in front of patriotic bug:



Sweet Violet, starting to wilt from the heat:

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Maybe I haven't been paying attention the last few years, but when did parades turn into giant lootfests? I remember floats and parade marchers throwing out candy from years past, and yes, the occasional beads, too. But this year, it seemed like a deluge of freebies. Maybe it's because of the hot mayoral race in D.C., but we got pelted with towels and stickers and signs and flags and little hand-held fans. Kids were scrambling for mushed up candy all over the ground. And there was almost a riot when the truck passing by ran out of the Capri-suns they had been handing out. I was a little overwhelmed, but Calvin and Noah were totally game. Here they are, waiting for the handouts:

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Calvin showing off some of his loot. That's the little fan hanging around his neck. I have to admit, that one did come in handy:

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It is really hard to get a shot of fireworks from inside of a hotel room, through a glass window, especially for these novice photographers. So this is the best we've got. Yes, that's Calvin in there somewhere:

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