Happy Independence Day!

Waiting for the South Elgin Parade to begin

We sat right across from Village Hall.

Here comes National Karate!

Shawn got to be in the parade with National Karate. The youngest students filled the backs of 3 pickup trucks!  (Shawn's in the back of the black pickup. Unfortunately, he was on the passenger side, so he didn't see us, though we caught a glimpse of the back of his head.)

The older & more advanced students walked and put on demonstrations as they went. Mr. Drescher (in the black) smashed multiple wooden boards with a jumping round kick!
Mr. Roller (a teacher from Shawn's first school) leaped over Mr. Flight (in the black) and side kicked another board so the pieces flew in all directions!There were a few advanced students who also put on impressive demonstrations. Raj and I thought National Karate's entry in the parade was the most impressive. (Although, one school carried a Chinese dragon, which looked pretty cool and certainly got our attention.)

And, what good would a celebration be without a Kitchen Sink from Colonial Cafe?!
(That's to scale, isn't it?)

After the parade, we tracked down Shawn at a very inconvenient pick-up spot and headed home for a short while. Lilly napped almost as soon as she got buckled into her car seat. Raj got some mulch spreading accomplished from the 60 sq. yards dumped in the driveway yesterday. (He's gotten a lot done, though there's only a small dent in the mound!)

(Her hand looks like she's signing, "I love you!")

There were bbqs everywhere you looked - some that looked like they brought their whole kitchens and dining rooms outside! We were content with our foldable lawn chairs and food from the concessions. 

(And sneaky Lilly found some pretzels hiding in the diaper bag.)

Shawn and Lilly played at the park, which reminded me a bit of an ant colony as it was teeming with kids. 

We bribed Shawn with a frozen treat as we left the playground to get back to our chairs before the fireworks began. (He was thrilled to get a Spidey popsicle with gumball eyes!) Lilly ate most of my sundae cone, while Raj got to have most of his very blue raspberry slushy to himself.

Lilly collapsed in a junk food & fresh air induced coma just as the fireworks started. She stirred a little at the opening applause & cheers, but then not again until it was time to leave. Shawn, Raj, and I ooooed and aaaaahed at the 'chemical explosions,' which Shawn explained were what firework really are. We marveled at a few that looked like smiley faces, flowers, hearts, and, of course, the traditional bursts of sparkling color. We thought some patriotic music to go along with it would've been a nice touch, but the St. Charles Park District put on a good show! Both kids fell asleep instantly on the drive home.
Happy birthday, USA!