Faith's 4th

Every year, the one thing Faith wants to do for the 4th of July is go to the parade in Mandan. It surprises me how much she loves parades, considering the noise and crowds of people. About 20,000 people attend the annual 4th of July parade, and it's filled with very loud firetrucks, big machinery, trucks, and other kinds of loud noises. This year, there was also the concern that it would be more crowded than usual. This was due to the fact that part of the normal parade route was under construction. 

Besides all that, the Parade starts at 10:00, which means Faith needs to wake up pretty early so that we can arrive in time. Neither of us had slept well the night before, so I was already concerned that she didn't get enough sleep to get through the long, busy day.

I let her sleep as late as possible and prayed for us both to have enough energy to make it through the day. It helped that we could do her morning feeding enroute and also during the parade. She normally doesn't like to do her feeding on the go, but sometimes we really don't have a choice.

My sister Dawn and I had our usual plan in place to go to her friend's house, and he would drive us down to Main Street and then take the van back to his place. This way, we wouldn't have to worry about parking and finding a place to let the ramp down. 

We were surprised to get to Main Street and find there were actually quite a few spots. We made our way to where our friend Britany and her family were sitting and settled in to watch the parade. Although there was some cloud cover, it was very humid, and I was concerned Faith was going to overheat. 

I had brought water with electrolytes in it and gave it to her midway through the parade. Also, every time someone handed us icy pops, I placed them on Faith to help cool her off. 

At the parade!

It's always nice to have a spot saved for us! 

She was very excited to see the Kids in Motion float and a few of her friends from there came over to say hi and give her candy. After about an hour of the parade, she decided she had enough. That was fine with Dawn and I, because we were hot! 

Not only that but leaving early allowed us to get ahead of the traffic. Normally it takes 3X as long to get back to Bismarck after the parade due to all the traffic. This gave me enough time to water my pastor's wife's flower garden, which I had been doing all week while they were on vacation. 

Courtney from Kids in Motion comes running over to say hi and give Faith candy! 

Kim comes over to give Faith a peck! 

Making a pit stop to water the flowers (there were way more than this!) 

At home, I got Faith out of her chair and let her relax for a bit before heading out for the next event. Two of Faith's cousins had graduated in May on the same exact weekend, one in Nebraska and one in South Dakota, and most family members were unable to attend.

The idea was to have the grads and their families here this summer for a double graduation reception. The only weekend that worked was the 4th of July. But what better weekend for a party!

Because of the heat and humidity Faith and I both ended up staying indoors. I honestly don’t know how people were able to just sit out on the porch, but like my mom said the days of sitting outside is much too short in North Dakota so they take advantage of it while they can!

The smaller kids had a blast playing in the kiddie pool. The older ones had fun shooting off fireworks. We stayed as long as we could, but I hadn't brought any of Faith's supplies to get her changed, so we headed out after being there for about 3 hours. She was coming to the end anyway and was getting very tired. 

Congrats grads - Donnie and Sydnee!

The grads and their fams! 

Faith hanging out indoors with Auntie Amber and Cousin Beth

Cooling off in the pool 

Hanging out on the porch! 

We got home and just chilled and I knew she wouldn't be up to going anywhere for fireworks. Thankfully, the people who live across the road from us go all out on the 4th, so Faith did get to see some of their fireworks. After a while though, she actually asked if she could go to bed. 

I on the other hand stayed up until well past midnight enjoying the rest of the fireworks show. Some of them were very loud, and I am amazed Faith was able to sleep through the noise. Granted I had her fan and her sound machine going, but still!

Enjoying the fireworks from our living room! 

Faith spent the next day relaxing, and I thought it was cute when she said, "Isn't it nice to have such a relaxing 5th?" It was indeed very nice!