Happy 4th of July! (week 342)

My 7th 4th of July began with the annual Plaza Neighborhood Bike Parade on Faust and Monlaco.  Every year, the kids in the neighborhood decorate our bikes and ride them to the big parade that has been starting at about 10:00 am at the same house on Faust for the past 23 years.  The parents are pretty in to it too and get dressed-up in their best red-white-and-blue outfits. Everyone brings a dessert to share which means that we all get to start the morning with lots of cookies, juice, and sugar.  

This year, a choir from the neighborhood high school sang the National Anthem acapella to get things started.  There was a banjo and accordian band in a classic truck, lots of tortillas flying at Tortilla Corner, pop caps, and even marshmallow guns being fired from front lawns and porches along the route.  Jackson and I rode our Razor Scooters while Chris rode the three-wheeler "SilverBike", that I have been riding for years.

In the afternoon, we all went to the Huber's house for watersliding, barbecue, basketball, and fireworks. Since fireworks are not allowed in Long Beach, we went to Lakewood where the smoke, fire, fountains, and rockets were flying across the streets and lawns.  It was pretty exciting and no one got hurt.  One of the scariest and most exciting moments was when the trash can with the old fireworks caught fire in the Huber's backyard.  Luckily, we were just walking home when it went up in flames so Cheryl--the pregnant lady--grabbed the hose and saved the day.  I learned an important lesson.

Happy birthday America!