3rd of July

This year, a couple of friends of mine put together a little relay day at the park for the 3rd of July. I didn't know we celebrated it, but after this production, I am all in. Every year. We had so much fun!

The L man is flashing his patriotic stripes.

E is participating in the watermelon eating contest. Oh wait. There wasn't one of those. He must have been confused. I just can't imagine one person consuming that much watermelon on willpower alone. Alas, he did. Oh boy, he did.

Here comes the relay. You had to throw the hula hoop over the box of capri suns. A lot harder than you would think.

Especially hard if you can't figure out the rules or what the heck you're supposed to be doing.

Ah ha. Here is the eating contest. With Ho Ho's. Now what could be more American than that?

Ethan understood the rules on this one.

It was close.

There may have been some kleenex consumed in this game, but that only makes you stronger, right?

There were also parachute games. These ones are my favorite.

I think it's the kids' favorite too.

This was a new one to me. You twirl the child up in the parachute while everyone is walking around in a circle. Then, everyone pulls the parachute, and the child in the middle spins around like a top. It was awesome. I would have thrown up. But it was awesome to see Ethan do it.

The object of this one is to shake the empty box of tissue that is tied just above your butt and filled with ping pong balls. You would think this was an easy one. I would have loved to put all the videos of us playing this one. I still laugh out loud when I see them. Unfortunately, I have to figure out how to downsize the HD recording. Anyone know how?

UPDATE: Here is the video!

Of course, there was a water balloon toss. Ethan was my partner and just nailed me with the balloon. And yes, I think he knew the rules, but he had a different objective.

Jane came along with us too for the day and any time with Jane is always a good time. Ethan loves his "Ma."

Michayla is my resident babysitter. I think I take advantage of her far too often. I just keep saying that she's getting some good practice.

Then there were cupcakes to frost and decorate.

Oh yes. And eat.

Thank you ladies for such a fantastic event. I look forward to my invite next year. I might even make a contribution next year!