Fourth Festivities

We had a great 4th of July this year.  It started back the weekend prior with a trip to Ft. Worth for Erin and Jeremy's annual patriotic celebration.  I wasn't good about taking pictures of all the cute decor or even one of Erin and I, but we definitely got some of the girls.  I love this one even though Emme looks quite frightened, as she should be! haha

And I had to include this one.  Gotta love my gal keeping in classy! 

It was a fun way to spend the weekend!

On the actual 4th, we started out without any plans, so we decided to check out the Abilene calendar and we saw a 4th of July celebration in the nearby town of Buffalo Gap.  It has a historical village that you can tour and some definite West Texas charm, so we decided to check it out.  The morning began with a parade.  We didn't know where to park and ended up at the beginning of the parade route.  It resulted in more of a walk, but we also got to meet some of the participants.  Here is Brinley meeting Mr. C the horse.  She was obsessed with horses the rest of the day!

The parade wasn't much, but it was something, and Brinley enjoyed it!  There were lots of bikes, golf carts, the firetruck, a horse drawn wagon...

and this fancy schmancy riding lawn mower.  No participant was left out here, people.  Nice.

Brin's highlight were the suckers

Since the attendance wasn't too high and we felt a little awkward, I decided to keep it that way and set up a self timer picture.  Terrible angle, not my best work, but we were all there and we captured the memory. 

After the parade we skipped the reading of the Declaration of Independence, singing of the National Anthem, and ringing of the town bell to start touring the historical village.

We liked the old schoolhouse best of all because they had some sweet old school playground equipment.  Where do you find teeter totters these days except Buffalo Gap?!

Our last stop was the face painting station.  After a long wait in a very stuffy house, we were up.  Brinley's first request was of course a horse, but since the lines were long and people were getting impatient, I convinced her that a ladybug would be better. 

She was so excited.

Later that afternoon, we noticed our across the street neighbors were having a little gathering.  We knew they had just put in a pool, so I figured they were breaking it in.  Now remember, this is small town America, and I grew up here and we went to college here, so of course we saw some people we knew and they came over to say hi.  They told us that our neighbors had sent and email trying to invite us but I never got it, so they told us to come on over.  I am so glad we did because we were able to meet lots of neighbors and we had a great time.  Brinley met this little girl, who is a daughter of a guy I went to high school with and isn't actually a neighbor, but she loved her and they played together all night.  I didn't take any pics at the party because I didn't want to seem like the weird picture taking neighbor (even though I really am) but I did get a couple from the end of our evening- fireworks time!

Again, you must remember that we live out in the country, so shooting off fireworks in your street is completely acceptable! 

Brinley was good with one sparkler before she felt how hot it got and decided she was done with that activity. 

She was much more thrilled with the neon necklaces and bracelets.  :0)

All in all it was a busy and fun filled 4th.  We ended the evening sitting on our driveway watching fireworks displays from every direction.  I am so thankful we were able to celebrate our great country as a family and a neighborhood.  True Americana!