Fourth of July.

I'm fairly easy when it comes to holiday traditions: I don't mind where I spend the day, I don't mind who I am with. I am not a big holiday party planner.

Although, for most holidays I have a mental "can we please do this?" list.

For a great Fourth of July {in my heart}, you need very few things:
Hot Dogs
Firework Popsicles
Fireworks {bonus points if it is accompanied by hand-holding}
The 4th of July scene from The Sandlot {oh, Ray Charles singing "America the Beautiful"}

I've blogged about these objectives before.

And, this year, all four of these hopes were fulfilled...

I spent the day with the Maguires.
They'd built a float {with the alley friends} for the city parade.
Oh, and we all had matching Alley Jerseys.
Post-parade we had a tasty breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes, chocolate milk, bacon and eggs...so, so delicious.
I worked on some Student Leadership Conference program stuff while watching The Sandlot in its entirety.
In the evening, we ate hot dogs in the alley before heading to see fireworks {where I did not hold hands, but I did hold Molly--easily the same amount of fun...if not more, since she did yell "Oooh!" more than a tourist during Disneyland snow.}
On the way back to the house, Amanda said, "just one more thing!" and reminded me that she had Firework Popsicles in the freezer!

So, I'm sitting in bed, exhausted, with an even-after-a-good-brushing purple mouth...preparing to watch the finale of Gilmore Girls season 4...