Wednesday, July 06, 2011

An old-fashioned Fourth

I love where I live for a lot of reasons -- but especially on the Fourth of July. You might think that because I live outside an eastern metropolitan region, Fourth of July wouldn't be a big deal. But you'd be wrong. Each year, I get a huge kick out of the old-fashioned -- in the best sense of the word -- way we celebrate Independence Day 'round these parts.

We start off with the Fourth of July Parade. I love that most people come wearing red, white and blue, bearing little flags, and that they are enthusiastic about singing along to the national anthem. The parade isn't a huge, slick affair. It starts with something like this


includes steppers from a near-by school;



Uncle Sam on stilts;



bagpipers;


even a Mummer or two;



but the best part is that they allow kids of all ages to decorate their scooters and bikes


or even create floats


and march along with the parade. It's become a Speranza family tradition to decorate the wagon and scooters and march along. This year we were honored with the presence of Betsy Ross

(although I am not at all sure the real Betsy had an Independence Day manicure like this one:)


and you can see the kids, accompanied by Tom, marching along here:


(It's also become a Speranza family tradition for Tom to bring his Starbucks along.) I kept my mom company on the sidelines, where we saw many wondrous things, like a 3 year-old learning how to text


and a lady dressed like Martha Washington but inexplicably toting her rolling suitcase behind her (did she just fly in from Mount Vernon?).


After the parade, we attended a barbecue at Tom's parents' house, followed by the local township's fireworks. We live in the perfect place to see them -- we just walk a block or two to an adjoining street, put down our blankets and chairs and watch the fireworks unfold before us. It's a fun chance to catch up with our neighbors, too.




Best of all, we made Nana happy so what could be better than that?

7 comments:

JelliDonut said...

I'll bet Betsy would have been jealous!

Sharripie said...

Maybe Mrs. Washington was pulling a cooler? She should've passed out cold drinks from that thing!

anne marie in philly said...

I think all your kids each grew 12 inches this year!

and I think I know in which parade you marched!

Bridget said...

Why wasn't Tom dressed more patriotically????

Love the Betsy Ross going along in her wagon.

Mary Lou said...

Martha must have flown, she has on flip flops for easy on and off at security.

Knitter Mama said...

I love "old-fashioned" 4th of July celebrations too! They are the best kind and you captured the very heart of them! Great pics!

Laurel said...

That looks like a great parade. I used to love going to my grandparents' for the 4th, and going to the parade in Chugwater (Wyoming). It was great to meet you at the MWFF! Also, if you read American Gods, by Neil Gaiman, it's not kid appropriate, don't know if I mentioned that.