4th of July Part 2: Celebrating Independence Day

On the afternoon of the 4th, after Leah and Dallin's naps, we took a car into Annapolis to do some patriotic celebrating in our country's original capitol (it was the official capitol for less than a year before it was moved to Washington DC).

We first went on a small boat ride around the harbor:

Dallin sat contentedly in the stroller nearly the entire ride (about an hour and a half). I think the boat's movement and the setting really calmed him - and it was nice to have him contained somewhere and only worry about one roaming child on the boat.

We first rode the boat up through some beautiful "neighborhoods".  When Annapolis was originally built, all the nice homes were up on the hills and sewage and trash from those homes rode down into the water, so the poorest people lived by the water.  Now, however, you can see that has changed:

These pictures don't do the homes justice. 

Our girl loved the whole ride.  She wandered from here to there and back again on the boat, trying out every seat and every position and every vantage point.  

Another beauty!

Chillin'.

A favorite Leah pic

This one tells a lot...there's ALWAYS something on Leah's mind.

The director of some major film lived here, but I'm too tired to remember who right now.

Resting in the spare stroller seat (for like 20 seconds).

Annapolis Harbor

First time seeing one of these!  And he was cruising!

The fireworks barge

Our super nice captain (or as Dave likes to call him, the "Skipper"!)

Settling into yet another new position.

No doubt the amusement on their faces is because of something Leah's doing (Dallin can be amusing too, but as I said, he was strapped to the stroller most of the trip...

...as pictured here)

It was pretty tiring following Leah around the boat as she moved from place to place!

An old convent (now turned hotel)

Moments before this picture was taken, Leah was stretched out in the perfect luxuriously relaxing sunbathing pose...we were sorry we didn't catch it on camera, but the pose was so perfect, we had to keep this after-picture to remember it by!

Still in the stroller...and content.

If there is a pacifier, Leah will find it.

After awhile I took pity on Dallin's confinement and pulled him onto my lap.  It was incredibly hot, but I still loved snuggling with my boy.

After awhile, Grammy fell asleep.  Leah made sure that didn't last too long.

Before we could stop her she woke her with a great big hug!

The six of us

After the boat ride we walked around Annapolis a bit and then settled down on Main Street to wait for the parade.  It was such a hot, hot, hot, hot day, so we did our best to cool off with slushies and lemonades...and my dad bought a hat.

Greeting Grammy and Granddad when they got back from buying the hat.

As you'll see from the next series of pictures, Leah entertained herself quite a bit by running around, trying out new poses and dance moves, and interacting with the crowd in general.  

But she always came back for some refreshment.
P.S. Anyone seen Dallin's pants???  It was so hot, I decided a diaper was sufficient clothing that afternoon.

She looks like a little girl here!  Where did baby Leah go????

I tried my best to keep Dallin entertained in one spot.  He really wanted to crawl around but the ground was too hot and dirty for his little baby legs.  But we were sitting there for over an hour before the parade started...keeping him happy was no piece of cake.

With people lined up on either side of it for the parade, Leah treated that big empty street like her own personal stage.

She kept doing this silly walk where she kept her chin glued to her shoulder.  It looked like some strange model stride.

Still doing it!

And now, for a pose!

Aaaand back to the strut.

She wasn't afraid to wander far (but she always kept us within sight).  This picture is zoomed in on the camera, and then zoomed in and cropped on the computer as well, so you can imagine how far she was!

Life's exhausting when you're Leah. 
(or when you're taking care of Leah!)

Still waiting!  (I love the look on Leah's face as Dallin is trying to pull her hair)

And I love how Dallin is looking up at his Grammy in this photo.

The whole troop again.

Leah wanted Dad to dance with her for a bit.

Love this Dad and his boy.

Lots of the kids had pop-its and other 4th of July celebration toys.  Leah was fascinated (and I felt bad we didn't have anything for her - though she seemed content watching other kids with theirs).

That's a confident walk if I ever saw one.

Finally!  The parade!

Leah emphatically waving and calling out, "Hi! Hi!"

Dallin and Leah both loved all the trucks that passed by.

I especially loved seeing Dallin's little pointing finger when he particularly liked something.

We didn't make it long enough to catch the fireworks and we were all anxious to get home.  But Leah was sure to tell her Granddad she loved him...

...and gave him a special thank you kiss for the super fun day he gave us all!