Parade, Fireworks, and Dirt!!!

I love to watch Ainsley get excited and enjoy things.  If she gets really excited, she'll clap her little hands as hard as she can and grin from ear to ear.  Those are the best times!  She got excited over a couple things over the 4th of July holiday.

We took her to the parade on Wednesday morning.  It was very hot out, but we were able to find a nice shady spot.  It only would have been better if there would have been a breeze.  Ainsley didn't mind the sirens or any of the loud noises.  She just watched everything go by and would get excited every once in awhile if there was music or something else that caught her attention.  I even caught her dancing in her stroller at one point to the music from one of the floats!

Waiting for the parade to start....and pulling the bow out!

Beads!!!

The little cars always crack me up.  I don't know how they drive around in circles without eventually getting dizzy!  You can always count on seeing Joel's cousin Jon driving around in one of them.

It was so hot out that a few people handed out popsicles instead of traditional candy. 

Ryder and Drake enjoying their popsicles

I've never been to a "big city" parade, but I'm assuming they don't have a line of tractors at the end of their parades.  (They probably don't have horses, either.)  You can count on a good 5 minutes of tractors at the end of a parade around "home". 

The parade was a success with Ainsley and it was good to get out of the house.  I hope she continues to enjoy parades and doesn't start getting scared of the sirens, etc.

Ainsley and Drake enjoying some parade candy

After the parade, we went home and Ainsley took a 2 1/2 hour nap!  I may or may not have laid down for a couple hours with her...She woke up still groggy, and I knew she wouldn't last until it was time for fireworks that night.  I ended up giving her a bath and putting her pajamas on her before heading to Jacksonville to watch the fireworks.  Sure enough, she fell asleep on the way, so we put her in her stroller so she could sleep until the fireworks started.

Waiting for the fireworks to start

I woke her up right at 9:30, which is the time the fireworks were scheduled to start.  We waited, and waited, and waited for them to start and Ainsley started getting restless.  She wanted to run around and didn't want to sit still.  It would have been fine, if we weren't in a public park surrounded by people and if it wouldn't have been dark and if she would have had her shoes on, but since all of those things were factors, I had to walk around with her on my hip trying not to step in a hole and rolling my ankle.  After 15-20 minutes of this, the fireworks finally started.  Ainsley loved them (for a few minutes, anyway)! 

Ainsley and Daddy watching fireworks

Dyche family watching fireworks

She would clap her hands and make her "oooo" face.  I found myself watching her more than the actual fireworks!

After a few minutes, she wanted off Daddy's lap so she could run around, which wasn't going to happen.  We packed up, and started walking back to the car.  The fireworks were still going off when we got back to the car, but at least we beat the traffic getting out of South Jacksonville on our way home since we left so early!

The ditch behind our house has needed some attention ever since we moved in, and it's finally getting it!  With all the road construction going on, one of the roads going into Chapin is going to be eliminated, and an access road is being built, which will come out close to the end of our street.  They're fixing our ditch while they work on the access road.  The guys started digging and laying some sort of pipe earlier this week and they're almost done with it.   Ainsley loved going down in the ditch the other night and playing in the dirt.

There were kids out on the ball field playing, so she had to go right up to the fence to watch them.   It was so funny to watch her try to go back down the "hill" to get back to the house.  She was too scared to walk down it, and kept trying to get on all fours to back down it.  I finally had to grab her hand and walk down with her.

Trying to get down the "hill"

Mom-how do I do it?!?!

I'll just play in the dirt....

I don't like that either....trying to get the dirt off her hands!

She loves to play in the landscaping rock around the house.  Does Daddy like it when she plays in the rock?  Not so much!  Oh well, it keeps her occupied for a few minutes.

Love her little hands!

She likes to run up and down our front porch, but it makes me nervous.  She gets so close to the edge of the porch and has almost fallen off of it numerous times. 

Giving Daddy "five"

Where's Ainsley????

Peek-a-boo!

A late night on the 4th to watch fireworks followed by a day at Lisa's equalled one exhausted baby!  She was looking at her book when we pulled out of Lisa's driveway yesterday afternoon and I looked back a few minutes later and she was out.  The book was still in her hands and everything!