Families of 4 on the 4th

Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays and it was all the more special because my brother and his family could spend it with us again this year.  The girls were another year older and could better appreciate the 4th of July parade (and the candy throwers!) as well as the toddler splash pool and beach.  And with me not being pregnant this year, I could better appreciate pretty much everything about the holiday!  But especially the cooler weather (only in the 80's instead of the 100's like last year!).

And let's not forget that this was the first 4th of July for two special kids.  Ansel was representing in his red, white and blue.

We tried to convince Amita that she wanted to take a picture with Ansel.  You be the judge on how successful we were!

Here's the girls in the wagon, very similar to last year.

Here's Ansel taking in the parade from a cooler spot in the shade.

Amita had a great view of the parade from on top of Daddy's shoulders.

Both Amita and Piper had a blast watching the action with their dads.  And everyone was so color coordinated too!

Here's our other 4th of July first-timer.  Priya snoozed through a lot of it, but she sure looked cute doing it!

Here's Daddy taking a break from carrying Amita on his shoulders.  They had fun watching the parade from the lower level too.

Here's Mama and her two kiddos.  The shade was spectacular!

Ansel never took a morning nap and he had fun playing in the wagon when the big girls weren't using it.

This year, Amita LOVED the toddler splash pad.  She was immediately in the thick of it (once it finally got turned on at noon!), splashing and squealing with joy.

She and Piper got to try out all the different water spraying devices.

But the hands down favorite for Amita was one that she called "the shower".

Here's Piper staying drier than Amita chose to.

After skipping the morning nap, Ansel was exhausted.

We finally took the girls out of the splash pad when Amita's lips turned blue and even then, she was not sure she was ready to be done.  But she really enjoyed her pink bathrobe and insisted we keep the hood on... for most of the rest of the day!

The girls got to help make and then eat popcorn before they turned in for the night.

And speaking of eating... here's Ansel making a mess with his food.  Biggest difference between him and Amita?  He is not a fan of cleaning up!!