Happy Independence Day! (week 445)

On the 4th of July, Dad made an attempt to give us a lesson on the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. It was a noble attempt, but we were more interested in decorating our bikes, fireworks, and cupcakes. It is one of our favorite holidays in the Keisler household because it begins with a parade and ends with fireworks.  In between is a whole lot of stuff that involves barbecue, swimming, hanging out with friends, and listening to Bruce Springsteen. It is usually around the time that we are either leaving or returning from camping in Summerdale, although that trip was delayed this year.

This year, we started out at our place and rode our bikes over to the parade on Faust.  It was the 25th annual Plaza Parade and there were probably 300 people there riding their bikes and walking through the neighborhood. As usual, there was tortilla corner, and a big water balloon fight at the Moody's house afterwards. We all rode at the front of the parade this year and totally ran away from our parents.  This was the first time that we spent much of the day celebrating our own "independence" whereas in past years our parents followed us around every step of the way.

In the afternoon we went to the Lees Street Block Party where they had an entire street blocked off for games, bounce houses, cornhole and barbecues.  It was awesome and a tradition that we certainly want to add to the middle of our 4th of July in the future.  We spent the later afternoon at the Hubers for swimming and more food before heading over to the Armstrongs for the giant "county unincorporated firework show" that nearly burns down the neighborhood each year.  It was both impressive and terrifying.  Chris and the little kids love it, but I am so nervous about it that I head back to the house and stay close to safety.

The other big news this week was that I finished the "Beginners Bible" that I got for my baptism from my Godparents Zak and Kate.  It took me 5 years, but I read some stories each day to dad and Chris at breakfast until I finished.  As a celebration, I am going to invite three friends (and Chris) to a bowling party that I have been thinking about for a long time.  My parents were very proud of me for sticking it out.

And of course, baseball continued through the weekend with only a break for the 4th of July.  The ELB U8 A All Stars won the Section Championship (our first) and brought the banner back to Long Beach to hand in Heartwell Park.  The crazy thing was that we played our ELB U8 B All Star team in the championship!  They upset the dreaded host Torrance All Stars in the semi finals to face-off at the Torrance American fields in the South Bay.  We were pretty pumped and now move on to Moreno Valley for the Super Regionals as the number one seed!