4th of July weekend

FINALLY we saw some sunshine over 4th of July weekend after a very nasty June. The NWS called it the "second gloomiest June on record." (Meaning we got very little sunshine). We had 14 days of the month with measurable rainfall (record was 16 days). Most days were cloudy, foggy, misty, breezy, and in the 60s. It was miserable.

But summer made it's appearance in time for the holiday weekend. First, on Friday, Todd, Natalie and I went to the Elm Bank Reservation. It has lots of pretty gardens and places for Natalie to run around. We found a killer hill that will be great for sledding in the winter. We saw a bunny rabbit, several dogs (on leashes of course), and a bunch of neat statues and things all around the gardens. Natalie started coming down with a cold, so we wanted to get her outdoors so she could "work it off" (ha ha). We also went to Panera for lunch. This is one of her favorite things to do. She loves their grilled cheese and yogurt.

On the 4th of July, we walked downtown to the Kiwanis pancake breakfast for some good eats. I think Natalie ate about 3 whole pancakes... I lost count somewhere after 2. Then we walked toward the town square to get a seat in the grass for the Natick 4th of July parade. Natalie really liked it. We thought the 15 firetrucks (and all of the wailing that went along with them) would bother her. But as soon as they were gone, she looked up at us and said, "More?" She liked all of the music that was played, and anything that had balloons on it. She is also like me... a people watcher. She loved seeing all of the kids and dogs that would walk by. She is just enthralled with dogs of any kind. She gets all giddy when they are around. She crouches down real low, pets them very softly, and then jumps up and laughs (and usually says something like, "Puppy Dog!").

After the parade and a nap, we joined our neighbor Bill and his friends and family at his 4th of July BBQ. A good time was had by all. There were a couple of small kids/babies there, so Natalie had some playmates. Then we finally met our neighbors across the way who have a 22 month old son named Spencer. They are all really nice, and we're so happy to have good neighbors!

We enjoyed a fairly quiet Sunday, going to church, and then the Bakery on the Common in Natick for a YUMMY breakfast. I'm definitely going back there for some pasteries. They looked excellent in the display case! Then we went to the park. Natalie discovered the teeter-totter (Todd wants to call it the see-saw). She LOVED the teeter totter and cried when we had to leave. I think it might have overtaken the swings as "Natalie's favorite playground activity."

The other picture up there was Natalie saying, "CHEESE" (yes, she makes this face when we tell her to say that) after we had taken her pony tails! She had the craziest hair... it was so funny.