Block party

We hosted a neighborhood block party last Friday, July 3 — official block party permit, street blocked off and everything.

The night before, all the kids were in our driveway decorating their bikes for the bike parade.

Braden ... with his parents following right behind.

And they're off!

Dana pulling Landon.

The kids used tinted water to make squirt gun art.

We also played a game to see how many marshmallows the kids could stuff in their mouths. After inserting each one, they had to say "Declaration of Independence." We stopped when the marshies started coming back out.

Next it was the adults' turn. Lou Ann did great in the rapid fire round. (Like my shorts? $7 at Old Navy.)

Dana and Bilal brought over their inflatable, which was a big hit.

Especially for Synjin.

Then out came the sun and the ladder golf, or redneck golf, or whatever you call it.


But the big highlight was the fire truck. As soon as it sounded its horn a block or two away, you could feel the excitement swell.

The kids were in awe. Some adults, too.

The firemen went right to work opening up a hydrant...

hooking up the hose...

and letting the kids play in it as long as they wanted. It was a beautiful sight. See the rainbow?




They even let the kids explore the truck.

And Jack jumped when he stepped on the air brakes.

The women getting to, ahem, know the local emergency personnel.

Hillary's baby (on the left) is actually being delivered today!

Then it was time to eat.



This doesn't even include any pics of the Slip 'n' Slide, catching fireflies or lighting fireworks. But we had a blast. And I think the last neighbors left our garage at 1:30 a.m.