Quick Update - or not so quick

Dan here. I see that we have not updated this thing in far too long, so let me bring some of you up to speed.

Having said that, I realize that I don't have much to say. Fortunately, Alison has some pictures and even some video on our cameras that will eventually make it on here. I know at least some of that will include a few shots of our Fourth of July festivities. We had a great day. Around noon Ali and PJ took part in the neighborhood parade. Abby had her bike all decorated, but decided at the last second that there were just too many people out there. That's my girl. So Abby and I dropped off the other two and headed back to the park where the parade would end and the playing would begin.

As you will see in the video, Castle Rock Fire Department led the way with a big engine and brought up the rear with one of the Emergency Rescue vehicles. Sirens blaring, a ton of kids and a few parents filled in the gaps, making their way through the neighborhood on bikes, scooters, trikes and whatever else they had available. It was fun.

I have to say, CRFD is pretty awesome. These guys are happy participants in a ton of stuff around the town. They are an integral and active part of the community. Not long after we moved, the girls all made some cookies and took them down there. From what I heard, the whole house gathered round and couldn't get enough of the toddler decorated treats. At the parade they let kids (and parents) climb all over the engine while they answered questions and look burly. I haven't been to many town events of which they were not a big part.

The park everyone marched to had a giant bouncy house that the girls attempted but quickly untempted due to a rash of larger boys being - well - larger boys. Fortunately, there was still the tire swing that they love which we managed to procure for a few minutes. After a little swinging, a little small talk, and all that, we needed to head home for naps because pretty soon Chloe was going to be here!

That's right, the Smith family came over and we enjoyed the rest of the holiday with them. I BBQ'd some pretty decent burgers, among other things, and we all ate well. That is, we ate a lot - not well really. Abby, Chloe, Penny and Colin all played and had a good time while the adults got to speak to other adults, which was nice.

Not unlike last year, rain played a deciding factor when it came to fireworks. I managed to buy a bag of goodies, as we are actually allowed to fire them off here in town - something I have not been allowed to do for many years. The girls had never seen fireworks, apart from way off in the distance or on TV. Let me tell you, it can be intimidating trying to put together a firework show - unless you are doing it for two and four year olds! Just about anything you do is met with giddy scream and girly squeals. And thank goodness because I'm not sure $40 worth of fireworks could have satisfied anyone else.

Anyways, like a madman, I managed to get about 25 fuses lit as the rain fell. It was very windy and moving toward showers, but the little fountains managed to stay standing long enough and dry long enough to do their thing. There is probably some footage of it somewhere. We'll see. Maybe. Of course, the sparklers were a hit and the girls enjoyed nearly burning each other with them under our front porch as the rain fell and daddy cursed the wind under his breath.

This was supposed to be short. Of course, anyone who knows me knows how unlikely that was. I better leave the rest for another post. In the coming days and weeks we will be posting more photos, telling more stories, and announcing a new website! Stay tuned.