4th of july

how was your 4th of july weekend? ours started out like this...

we woke up before 5, mostly because henry was awake, beckoning from his crib. we'd also been warned to cross the chesapeake bay bridge before 7 if we were headed to the beach, because the whole city leaves town for the beach the weekend of the 4th. we did. but we probably wouldn't have hit traffic if we'd left at noon, because arthur was in town to stir up some holiday fun.

we'd decided a couple of weeks ago to head to delaware for the holiday. there is a perfect little beach just within the bay called lewes (pronounced lewis) beach that was supposed to be a great mix of family friendly and low-key, perfect for us party animals. since the weather was on its worst behavior, we spent some time pacing the streets of lewes - a super charming little beach town that reminded us a lot of stillwater, mn, in a classy, southern kind of way. i loved it instantly, but joey (rightly) pointed out that to live there would be hell on the weekends as hoards of tourists flock to the streets and clog up the highways in and out of town. sorry lewes locals, you might be seeing more of the larsons in these parts - flocking your streets and clogging up your highways like the true tourists we'll always be. and our hunt for the perfect little east-coast town to settle down in is still on.

the beach was still too chilly for us on the day of the 4th, and we had a hotel reservation for the night in a town nearby, so we drove to the only other town in delaware we knew of to see about some independence day fun. hey'a dover, this one's for you.

we tracked down the excitement near the capitol building and settled in for the parade. but you know how henry tends to make his own plans, and by the time the first emergency responder crept past our slot on the parade route he'd had enough. so we packed up our dictator and hiked back to the hotel to settle in for the night. no fireworks for this crew when bedtime is 7:30 on the nose. next year, independence day. we're coming for you!

the next morning, h woke up on the wrong side of his cradle, so when we arrived at the beach he was in zero mood to paste on his beach smile and enjoy the waves. mandatory naps tend to solve all kinds of woes, though, so we strolled along the beach until the lapping water soothed him right to sleep.

and then, mr. happy was ready to play. he loved the sand - but mostly because there was so much of it mom and dad couldn't possibly keep him from getting a shovelful or 10 into his mouth within the first five minutes. we had a great day burying our feet in the sand and watching the kids run around us as they raced to the water and then rushed out before the waves reached their legs. next year, henry told us, he's going to run right to the water and swim all day. this weekend, though, he was more than tickled to watch the other crazy kids have all the fun.

i hope you had a great weekend too!