God Bless America

we had a great time at the park celebrating the Fourth of July...

the kids love to stay out late, which we've done a lot this summer! ralphy has become quite fond of rootbeer, which we let the kids have on very special occasions, like trips to the river or nights with a campfire...after the grandparents went home, we stayed a little longer because elli wanted to dance on the street in front of the bandstand...

at one point the band announced that they would need a couple of ladies to help them with the next song (mustang sally)...elli said, "i'm going up there...are you coming, mama?" i said, "noooo..." and she said, "i'm going!" and she certainly did, without a backwards glance towards me or ralph...she stood front and center for the entire song, looking to the band members for "her cue"...the sax player took care of her and held his microphone down for her every time they sang "RIDE, SALLY, RIDE!"
she was in heaven...she didn't move her feet at all because she was so focused on singing her part...on the way home she told us she wants to be a singer when she gets big...she said she'll be "a veterinarian in the day and a singer in the night!"

after our big Fourth of July, we woke up the next morning to go to my parents' farm/cabin 2 hours away...we took great pictures of our time there...i'll post those next time!