4th of July

In the grand tradition of Gramma West, we try to make the Fourth of July really special. This year Matt woke up with a terrible head cold so we were not off to a good start. But, he took one for the team, and we started our day with the Wheaton, Ill. Independance Day parade (matching shirts and all). It is the biggest parade in the state.... nothing but the best for our 4th celebration! It had a little of everything....bands, boy scouts, floats, politicians and even an elephant (which I found disturbing, but everyone else thought was cool).

Here we are with our neighbors Josh and Ethan....

After 2 1/2 hours (wow!) the parade was over and we headed home for much needed naps. In the afternoon, we went to my parents annual 4th of July BBQ. The spread was HUGE. Watermelon, potato salad, chicken salad, chips and guac, hamburgers, banana cream pie, etc. Unfortunately, we were the only guests! Usually my whole family comes, but this year they made other plans so it was just us and the Folks. We had to stuff ourselves sick to try and make a dent in all that food. We all had a good time!
By evening Matt had pretty much run out of energy and needed some sleep to nurse his cold. We decided to skip the fireworks, but explode a little diet coke and mentos instead!


I think Gramma West would have been proud!