The Independence Day parade in Hillsboro is (according to Matt Groener, who probably got it from a credible source) the second largest parade in Oregon. Wow! This would be our first year attending, so we asked to tag along with our experienced Groener cousins to catch this memorable event. Alton is at the perfect age to absorb all of the parade entries, sit patiently to watch it all go by, and catch the candy thrown by parade participants from their floats and vehicles.
Alton and Mommy start out the morning on the curb with flags a-wavin'.
Diana said that she would arrive on Main Street early and start spreading out blankets to save our patch of sidewalk, then Matt and her boys would arrive closer to the start of the parade. We decided that this was an excellent plan for Andy, Alton and I to mimic, so I left my two guys at home while I biked to Main Street and ducked into Starbucks for some caffeinated refreshments for Di and me. After some strategizing and consultation, she and Matt decided that she would start saving seats for us at 7:45a.m.! What a dedicated mom and friend to have.
Here we are with part of the Groener gang: Di, *O, Alton & KT, and *E. Andy and Matt are behind their cameras.
The parade started and wow! Let the excitement begin! We saw marching bands, cheerleaders, floats with rock bands playing, fire trucks, politicians, unicyclists, and even some TRACTORS! As I mentioned, many of the parade entrants were throwing handfuls of candy into the crowd; this is apparently one of the big things that kids look forward to with this parade. *E and *O were totally prepared with plastic bags to stow their treats. *O was on lightning feet to dart around the legs of the onlookers and scoop up any fallen pieces of candy.
Here Alton uses one hand to clutch his mini flag and one hand to clutch his candy!
His damp little paws were soon full of candy, so after awhile we started tucking it into his little shirt pocket for safekeeping.
Unfortunately, most of the candy was hard candy that wasn't really easy for Alton to eat, so he passed on his stash to his older cousins with no problem.
He did, however, convince me to let him open one "Dum-Dum" sucker and happily slurp his tongue along the sides of it. He was SO happy about his little treat and kept telling the rest of the family, "I have a lollipop!" Andy took about 100 pictures. Then when it was time to clean up his hands, Andy took the remains of the sucker from him and popped it into his own mouth while he wiped Altie down, which is when he realized that it was coconut flavored! Probably one of the least-favored flavors for kids! Yick.
There were a few folks who threw little toys in addition to the candy. Alton collected a little parachuting bug and a small purple hand stamp in the shape of a puppy!
While *O scanned the street for more of the candy projectiles, *E was excited to introduce Alton to his first parade. He pointed out some of the upcoming big trucks...
and let Alton sit on his lap for a while, too!
Alton was floored by the balloon displays of the Hillsboro Air Show advertisement float!
They played "Highway to the Danger Zone" over the loudspeakers as they drove through town.
A percussion group called "The Last Regiment" marched by, drumming for all they were worth.
Alton was so enthralled that he wanted to get closer, but I was right behind him to make sure that he wasn't deaf for the rest of the day!
They went by quickly and there was always more to see coming up behind. Alton, what are you so excited about?
A GIANT Jeep!
We had some happy snack-munching amidst all there was to see, and by noon it was over and time to start the walk back to the car to head home for lunch and nap. Our little cutie absorbed it all in his usual serious way and we had so much fun capturing his patriotic side on camera.
After all of our hard work on our yard, we are able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor during this long-awaited summer. Like most of the country, we've had a cold, sometimes freezing spring, and summer has been taking its sweet time about arriving. We'll get a couple days of 80-degree heat only to have the grey clouds return and shower us with raindrops and leave a chill in the air. Even Independence Day was patchy--we wore jackets during the Groeners' barbecue! But before I delve into a post about the holiday weekend, here I am catching up on some of the fun we've been having outdoors.
On the day his Nonna left town last weekend, Alton was sporting his "I Love Nonna" t-shirt, and needed some sandbox TLC to console himself after her departure.
Lots of scooping and dumping with his shovel.
The bucket is full now!
Another evening, we were basking in mid-afternoon sunshine and decided that it was perfect weather to grill our dinner outside and eat on the patio tables. While Mommy was getting everything ready, Daddy kept Alton busy away from the hot grill by (what else?) starting up a photo session. Here Alton poses for a hydration shot...
but then he turns the tables on Andy and asks to take a photograph himself! If you click on the picture below, you can see it larger and view the reflection in Andy's sunglasses: Andy is supporting the camera body with his hands, and Alton's little face is behind the viewfinder and pressing the shutter button!
He spies through a different viewfinder: his periscope!
He loves the bench next to the sandbox and treats it like his new secret hideout. He stands there, has his snack there, requests Mommy and Daddy to take a load off there, etc.
A quick pose on the stepladder...
and it's time for dinner! He gives an enthusiastic thumbs-up to Mommy, who is bringing out plates and the rest of the food.
Alton sits be-bibbed and patiently awaiting his meal. Tonight we grilled salmon on the bbq, roasted some potatoes with fresh rosemary from the garden (in the oven), and enjoyed big fresh heads of broccoli from our CSA.
Happy (hungry!) little guy, demolishing his food. (Note that the salmon is already gone. Me want meat!)
We also played backyard host to a family potluck for our toddler playgroup. Nearly 20 parents and 10 children gathered in our yard for a close-knit gathering and inaugural playtime with friends on the playset and other yard toys. Below, Alton (center) hangs out with two buddies at his water table.
Much of the party was spent like this: two or three kids on top of the fort, two or three in the sandbox, two or three at the water table, two or three roaming around eating potato chips. Insert parents as necessary.
Alton demonstrates successful chip-eating technique for the par-tay.
We love having our little cousin friend in the same playgroup as us! Here *P shows you where she spent most of the party: in the sandbox. She was elated with the play structure and happy to see the water table, but could not get enough of the sandbox!
The 3 and Under crew take a break for dinner.
Alton was such a sweetheart about having all his friends over. He didn't mind sharing all of his wealth of fun toys with the crowd, but occasionally seemed to require a little bit of privacy from the overwhelming legion of kiddos. He absconds to his favorite spot underneath the playset on the sandbox bench.
For a little while he even went inside to drive his Tonka dump truck around.
Toward the end of the night, he got some one-on-one time with his little buddies.
Adorable cousin bookend shot. Andy was beaming from all the compliments he received from the other parents on the play structure he built. As for compliments from the kids...the proof is in the pudding! They loved the playset and never stopped having fun on it!
Whew, that's a lot of fun! Alton, how are you doing?
Alton's Nonna (my mom) and Aunt Cici (my sister) are elementary school teachers in the same district in California, so they have all their vacations at the same time. It's no surprise, then, that they like to come visit us up here in Oregon at the same time! You may have already seen that they were present on Father's Day when Andy was working hard on our now-finished play structure, but we packed a lot more fun into their visit. On Father's Day morning, we tracked down Papa (my dad) at home to do a video chat on the computer with his favorite grandson.
Alton says that the monitor is not enough--he wants command of the keyboard as well.
He clowns around with Aunt Cici while showing off for Papa.
We spent lots and lots of time outside exploring the play structure-in-progress. Nonna had her little camera out to snap all those cute Alton moments.
Alton had the honor of being allowed to eat the first strawberry picked from our small potted strawberry plant in the backyard! Looks delicious.
Along with the Oregon Hood strawberries, this year we planted pots of tomatoes, parsley & basil, nasturtium flowers, rosemary & lavender, plus several other flowers in pots we've received from our CSA. Quite a budding garden for our little green thumb!
Nonna and Cici graciously offered to babysit for us on Father's Day so that Andy and I could go to one of our favorite (non-toddler-friendly) restaurants: the Melting Pot! Mmm, cheesy fondue goodness. Yes, we are on a diet, but being good the other days of the week is worth it so long as we can have a three-hour-long dinner like this.
Another night, the Groener Family (our cousins) came over for dinner and to thoroughly inspect the new play structure.
Alton was in love with that beach ball (before it sprung a leak). Andy says that for the picture below, if you crop out the suburban background you are left with an orphan child from a war-torn country, pitifully clutching the one thing left from his happy youth.
Cici left town a few days before Nonna, and the next-to-last day of Nonna's visit was the day our playgroup went to the local fire station! Alton loooves fire trucks, so despite being a little intimidated by big guys in uniforms, he was really excited for the tour (absorbing it in his usual stoic little fashion). So much to see! First Alton, Nonna, and Alton's little friend explored the miniature fire truck in the lobby of the station.
Then it was time for the tour to begin. He and Nonna play close attention...
but make time to pose in back of one of the rescue trucks.
The highlight for most of the kids: receiving cool plastic fire chief hats! Alton and *P pose in front of the biggest fire truck.
The whole group with the firefighters.
Too soon, it was time for dinner and the end of Nonna's last full day in town. We went out for Italian food and Alton wowed his Nonna by wolfing down lots of antipasto, focaccia, ravioli, and chocolate lava cake for dessert.
We'll miss you!
