Independence Day

July 4, 2013

On the morning of the fourth, we headed downtown for the first annual Fort Collins fourth of July parade.  We were all so excited to see what would be coming down the road.

The parade was the perfect length for toddlers and consisted mostly of city vehicles and recreation teams.  Cinderella was walking with the library float, and when she saw Rose, she came right over for a hug.

But she settled for a high five.

After that, Rose was in such a great mood that she played the piano for us.

And of course she gave kisses and hugs to this mountain lion downtown.

Mountain lions do not scare this princess!

That afternoon was so hot that we put our kids in their swimsuits and headed to the park for some splashing.

At first, Rose was not a fan of the splash pad.

But then she kept inching closer.

Meanwhile Dale went bananas soaking himself.

Rose thought that was kind of okay.

Nope, she never really did get in.  But she did stop clutching Daddy's neck, so I guess that's a step.

Giant Toes Playground

I'm horrible at remembering names.  I can remember little details about people, places and things, but if you ask me what it's called, I won't have a clue.  So we've started naming playgrounds by what they have rather than what they are really called.  I like it.  It works for me.  In Manhattan we frequented the "boat park," the "monster slide park," the "dude with ax park," and the "purple eagle park."  My kids know which park is which, so that's all that really matters.

Moving to Fort Collins will give us a whole slew of new and extra awesome playgrounds to rename.  On this day, we visited the "giant toes" playground, and it quickly became Dale's new fave.

While Rose ran from place to place like a little butterfly, Dale climbed everything in sight.

Getting braver.

Once Dale got to the top of the giant rock pile, he sat there for quite some time, pensively studying the scene.

Then Rose found him.

And here they are; the giant toes.  Aren't they awesome?  Oh yeah, this park is awesome, and we'll be frequenting it soon.

For the record, this playground is called Inspiration Playground, and it's at Spring Canyon Community Park. I won't remember that five minutes from now.