A Full Fourth. (Also my 400th post. Cool.)

This year's Independence Day was a super busy and super fun day.  It started off with me waking up early to participate in the Freedom Run 5k.  I ran it in support of this cause, raising money for a new mom fighting brain cancer I had thought about running the 10k because I've never run a 10k race before, but opted for the 5k because my training schedule had me at 3 miles for the day rather than 6.  So 5k it was.  That may have been one of the better decisions I've ever made.  It was one of the hardest runs I've ever done because it was so humid.  To give you an idea, I spilled a little on my shirt at a water station and it took over an hour to dry.  Yeah, humid.  I'm not used to that.  Still, I made pretty good time considering I had to stop and walk several times.

I didn't bring my camera along so here's the only shot of my face before the race.

After the run I met up with Eric and the kids so we could watch the parade.  I got to use an actual bathroom when I saw our former upstairs neighbors on their lawn before I found my family.  They graciously let me use their facilities so I wouldn't need to use the blue Honey Bucket.  We stayed at the parade until the kids were done and Eric realized that the 501st wouldn't be in there.  Nerd. ;)

Following the parade I changed out of my sweaty, stinky running clothes and we had lunch.  We headed over to the vendor booths downtown and got our yearly fix of Texas Twister and cinnamon pecans.  Mmm...  Ellie really wanted to go on a ride so we bought some tickets.  She wanted to ride this one:

I tried to talk her out of it but she was determined.  She and Eric waited in line until they told her she's not tall enough to ride yet.  We reevaluated our tickets and found Both the girls and one parent could go on this ride:

image via clowningaround.me

The girls and Eric loved it.  I hung out on the sidewalk with Quintin.  Just watching it spin makes me queasy.  I'm a carnival lightweight.  Eric enjoys training his future roller coaster buddies.  The girls also got to meet a princess and they were pretty happy about that.

I made their little shirts

My aunt and family are in town from out of state, so we joined up with my extended family for some swimming fun at the pool at my grandparents' condo.  Ellie proved herself fearless by jumping straight into the pool with no one to catch her while I was still holding Quintin and hanging on to Maya's hand (Eric was changing).  She had swim lessons two summers ago and that's it.  The man in the pool noticed as I called for her to wait for me before she jumped.  Her head popped out from under the water for a moment before she went back down.  I knew the man had heard e call to her and had watched her jump in.  He was close enough that I could calmly say, "She doesn't swim."  I had to point at her and say it again with more urgency before he understood I needed him to save my child.  Then he acted very quickly.  Ellie wasn't phased at all. She and I had a little chat about waiting for me before jumping in the water.  Hopefully it sank in.  Maya was quite a bit more timid.  She went from sitting on the side to sitting on a step to leaping off the side into my waiting arms.  She thought that was pretty good.  Quintin was highly upset to be surrounded by water (weird; he LOVES baths) until he realized the potential for splashing.  Then he was a happy camper.

Waiting for fireworks last year. I hate this picture of me.

Waiting for fireworks this year.  Boom!  That's what 35 lbs of weight loss looks like.  So many reasons to smile.

 Before heading out to enjoy the Pleasant Grove fireworks show with Eric's family we scarfed down some dinner with my extended family at a pavilion.  It was there that we heard a distressed scream from Maya right before she let her bladder loose.  Dang it.  We put her swimsuit back on and called it good.  Ellie would also have an accident that later that evening.  She also got to wear her swimsuit again.  Not a good night for keeping dry...or for grandma's blanket.

While we waited for fireworks to start Eric, Amber, and their mom took the girls to see Eric's grandpa's grave.  I stayed behind with Quintin and Mike, where I was able to complain about how hard the Freedom Run was to a new set of ears.  The kids enjoyed playing cards, eating grapes and popcorn, running around, and flying a kite to keep entertained before the show started.

Looking disheveled but happy after swimming

A minute or two before the fireworks show began Maya said she needed to go potty.  Crap.  There was no bathroom nearby and nowhere close would be open at 10 pm on a holiday.  Rather than take her to a bush I hustled her to the van to see if we could find something to catch it inside.  I found a styrofoam cup.  I tried to use the van for some measure of privacy.  You know what happens when you get in our van?  The lights turn on and stay on for several minutes.  So we were in a brightly lit van and facing a crowd waiting for a show as I tried to hold a cup between her little legs.  Basically it was a reverse drive-in movie.  The situation deteriorated further when Maya told me she wouldn't go in the cup and I tried to figure out how to let her sit without risking getting the mess on my white shorts.  I ended up wedged in Quintin's car seat and perching Maya on my knee.  The overhead lights were still on, further exposing our actions to the crowd.  Then the boom of the fireworks started.  Our van was centered under them.  Nice.  It ended up being a fruitless effort and I walked back to our blanket, defeated and more than a little embarrassed.  About two seconds after I got back it occurred to me that I could have simply put one of Quintin's diapers on Maya and told her to have at it.  Too little, too late award goes to me.  She ended up holding it for another hour.

Fuzzy but fun.  The younger two kids were pretty much done taking pictures.

It was a fun, long day.  Next year we're praying for less humidity...and bringing a potty.