4th of July Fun

When we started house hunting in Raleigh, we were immediately drawn to our little neighborhood.  There were actually some homes in our price point, and it was so family friendly!  I remember scoping out the neighborhood's facebook page online and telling Chad, "WE HAVE TO LIVE HERE! They have a kiddie parade on the 4th of July!"  Kind of fun that this year Kaden got to be IN the kiddie parade that I was so excited about.

We invited our friends, the Bokishes, from our old Cary ward to meet up with us in the morning for the parade fun.  I bought a bunch of decorations thinking we would decorate Kade's wagon for him to pull, but of course he just wanted to ride Liam's bicycle (we've since returned it, which means a balance bike needs to be in the near future for this kid).  A firetruck led the brigade to our pool/clubhouse where there were popsicles, drinks, and eventually a bouncy house and lunch.

Then we packed up the car and headed to Gigi and Poppy's house in Kinston for a yummy steak dinner, bonding time with the cousins (Meredith, Adam, and their kids had flown in earlier that day from Denver), and fireworks that night.  Kaden was SO excited about the fireworks, but once we got there he kept saying he wanted to go back to the car.  (I think they were a bit loud for him.)  So, we ended up leaving before they were finished.  

We stayed the night Thursday, enjoyed a fun Friday (Chad worked from home), and headed back to Raleigh on Saturday afternoon, after chowing down on Ken's BBQ for lunch (one of our all time favorite eating spots in Kinston).  

I love the 4th of July!  We checked out a bunch of patriotic books from the library the week before, and I have loved hearing Kaden say, "Look!  An American flag!" every time he sees one when we're out and about.