4th of July

Somehow over the past few years, our 4th of July plans have come to include a trip to Canterbury Park. Jacob has gone there 2 out of 3 summers. We did come home with both kids, even though it was tempting to wager them on a horse race since they had spent the last several nights keeping us awake (expected of Mariella, not so much from Jacob). We got free hot dogs, a nice hard rain shower, and saw exactly one horse race and one "weiner dog" race. Jacob wasn't very excited to stand around waiting for the race to begin, and he was usually entertained by the playground when the post times came around.

We didn't see any fireworks this year again. Both kids badly needed sleep. So did the parents.

Mariella found Grandpa S. at Canterbury. What a lucky girl! She was ready to watch the races with her big hat.

Jacob had his first pony ride! We couldn't believe he actually did it.

He went around almost 2 of the 3 laps before diving off the pony with no warning. Good thing Daddy was there to catch him!

This is what he spent most of his time doing...

Watch him slide down!





It might have been a good idea to keep the hat on, but what does Mommy know?

The next morning, we packed a picnic lunch and went to one of our favorite parks. Jacob kept coming back for one bite of sandwich or chip and then ran off to play on the slides or at the splash pad (lots of sprinklers). I was so busy keeping an eye on him that this was the only picture I took.