Liesel's first Fourth of July

Last year on the Fourth of July, Hubs and I were excitedly preparing to travel around the world to unite with our sweet daughter, Liesel.  We returned to the states with her on July 27, and she missed one of my favorite American holidays, the Fourth of July.  This year, I had big plans for the day.  I wanted it to be fun and special.  We started out the day with a neighborhood parade.  Our subdivision hosts a parade every year.  Neighborhood families can meet at our local elementary school and "parade" down the street to our local city park on their bikes, scooters, feet, whatever!!  Hubs took the girls down around 9am to join in the fun.

They had a blast!!  Fortunately, the weather cooperated too.  It had been relatively cool for Texas that week, and the morning of July 4th was no exception.  The girls did come back hot and tired, but it could have been a lot worse!!  

In the afternoon, my parents came over, and we enjoyed a little barbecue together.  Hubs grilled hot dogs, and I sliced up a veggie plate, some fruit, and I also managed to scrounge together a small bowl of baked chips (we are not chip people).  Also, during the afternoon, I made my favorite 4th dessert, flag cake!

Yum!!  After eating our delicious dinner, we loaded up in our mini-van and drove to south-central Austin, just to the south of Lady Bird Lake.  We parked the car in a neighborhood and walked the 1.3 miles down to Auditorium Shores.  The size of the crowd was staggering.  There was literally a sea of people.  We finally found a place to settle on the lawn so that we could enjoy the annual Austin Symphony concert and fireworks show.  We had taken Juliet to this show last year, and we were very surprised by how well she did.  We were so happy to be able to take Liesel along this year too.

Concert stage where the Austin Symphony was located

So many people!!  

Hot and thirsty

They symphony, as always, was great.  They played a variety of patriotic songs including the National Anthem and the Stars and Stripes Forever.  Just before the fireworks started, they also played the 1812 Overture.  The music continued after the fireworks started, making it a fun experience.

After the show, we packed up and walked the 1.3 miles back to our van.  I was really concerned about all that walking, being pregnant, but my body handled it very well.  I was tired when we got home, but not sore or sick the next day.  I hope that we can make this celebration of our country an annual tradition for our family for years to come.  I know that the memories we are building are well worth all the work and sweat!  Happy Fourth of July, folks!!