Today I decided that our family was going to make the absolute MOST of this day and celebrate our independence from Minecraft!!! We got up and did a few things. The kids earned money helping Maw Maw with some small jobs that she had for them to do. A good friend gave me two flag kits from Flags of Valor (a great organization that makes beautiful wooden flags). I saved our kits for today and brought the paint and brushes and things we needed to do the craft. Maw Maw had an old shower curtain liner to drape over a table in the garage and we made our flags. The kids were totally into it and I think they turned out great!!
Every year (except last year) we come to Dubois for the 4th of July. They have a great parade and lots of activities. This year, many of the activities were canceled, but not the parade! We originally planned to sit along the main route, but this year the route was extended in the name of social distancing. Word got out that there might be some protestors at the event and all of the surrounding communities canceled their parades, so fearing crowds and the potential for some rowdiness, we opted to park our chairs in front of a friend’s house along the extended route. It was so bizarre. It was just us. No one to the west of us.. no one to the north of us and the neighbors next door were out, but they were up on their porch with a fenced off yard. Parades are supposed to be crowded and lively… It was super awkward when the Governor of Wyoming, who was leading the parade looked me dead in the eye from his wagon and asked how my day was, because we were the only ones there!
The entrants were asked not to throw things, but not prohibited, so the phone company threw little packets of hand sanitizer and the fire department gave the kids a little bit of candy. A far cry from the hefty hauls of years past candy (guess I’ll have to come up with a plan for trick-or-treaters this year, LOL). At least one of the tanks broke down along the parade route and had to be towed by a tractor and we still got rained on so some sense of tradition remained intact! Levi didn’t hide from the fire trucks with the rest of us and got wet. Then got mad about it.
After the parade we headed home for nap time. We told Levi he had to nap or no fireworks. He laid down and we laid down and I had no expectation that he was going to participate in nap time. Next thing I heard someone messing with the door, I woke enough to look and see that Levi was sound asleep and Trista was at the door to tell us dinner was ready!
Buddy always cooks up a nice feast on the 4th and this year was no exception. He invited a number of neighbors and we enjoyed visiting and filling up on Buddy’s BBQ.
The kids were excited to play with the mule and Trista took on her new role and Mule ride guide and helped Levi and Paige get onto the mule and led them for rides around the patch. Good company, good food, good scenery, it is clear that running away from home was exactly what we needed to do!
After dinner my kids actually asked about the fireworks we bought. They did sparklers and snappers and we lit a few things. The kids were engaged, not scared and took turns lighting things off (with John’s help, of course).
After some fun with our own stash we drove up to the dump and watched the city’s extended display. Not only did the city have a great display, but there were people all over town lighting off the big fireworks. With a full moon and lunar eclipse happening behind us and spectacular fireworks in front of us (and minimal mosquitos) It was a night to remember!
