This 4th of July just seemed to go on and on.
On Friday, the actual 4th, we went to Mass in the morning and then came home to a really rainy day. So much for the pool. The boys wanted another bike ride, so Tim braved the clouds and took them for a short one. It stayed dry for that long!
We were supposed to go downtown for the First Fridays event that they have on the first Friday of every month. I was really looking forward to it. We were going to meet the Hauf family and get pizza and see what was going on. The rain changed our plans, so we ended up just fixing dinner for the boys and Tim and I ordered in from a great new little place down on Rt. 40. It was so good!!!
On Saturday morning I had to work for a couple of hours. I had a chance to spend some time with Betty, who is much more friend than client now. We got a lot accomplished!
I came home and we got ready for the 4th of July parade downtown. We have made this an annual event. This year we joined Nina, Lilly, Johnny and family. Nina had been up on Union street with her blankets at 7:00 am to save a good seat.
It was so nice to be under the trees in the shade and the weather was perfect! It wasn't really very hot and it was overcast most of the time so we didn't have to worry about the kids getting sunburned.It is by far the most patriotic parade I have ever attended. This is no surprise given the area and history of this place. There were several local military units. The National Guard,
From APG,
The Marines,
The Army Band,
a flyover with a couple of gunships, I'm not sure what type of helicopters they use, but they are BIG!There were probably seven or eight bands, including our own Havre de Grace High School band,
led by our friend Rick Hauf. I was so glad to see him there!
All the bands played some sort of patriotic march or piece. There were floats and, of course, the candidates. Our neighbor Joe Kochendurfer is running for city council again this year.
There were also the car clubs
and clowns. I think every fire engine in Harford County was there. 
And the cops, on their new form of transportation. I got a kick out of that. They are serious by the way. It has to make the bad guys chuckle just a little...
It's a very good thing there were no emergencies during that hour...Lilly LOVES the sirens! She was doing her little dance and screaming right along with them, laughing the whole time! She loves anything that has any rhythm at all and the louder, the better. The bands just thrilled her to pieces.
We had a great time. We walked back to our car, came home, had dinner and then went down to the middle school to sit in the field and watch fireworks. Whoever plans the show changed the location of the launch this year and it wasn't as easy to see. Next year we will walk down to the park to watch.
Our Sunday has been quiet. We went to Mass at 11:00 and then later in the afternoon we went to Lowes to order the first of the replacement windows. We are going to do most of the windows in the house before winter. It has to be done.
Should be a nice week, nice and quiet...
