Patriotic Pirates

Ahoy matey! This year for the Fourth of July, my mom built a pirate ship float for all of the grand kids to ride on in the annual East Millcreek parade.

Actually, Sam built the ship, Ashley's husband Tyler sewed and rigged up the sails and my mom did everything else. She really is a creative genius. We thought we might actually have a chance to win this year but once again, no dice. We lost to a very sub-par covered wagon float.

Every year, Sam grumbles about having to do the parade, but honestly, it is so fun and my kids looooove it. This year, the three oldest grand kids walked and threw candy:



The four little boys rode in the float:



and the three babies got pushed in decorated strollers:



All of the kids wore pirate costumes and me and my sister, sisters-in-law and my mom wore these red and white striped shirts I bought on Ebay...of course, my smart aleck brother Rex had to give us a hard time about wearing horizontal stripes:



The back of the float was the only thing I was responsible for. I ordered vinyl lettering and called it a day. It was a four man job getting it on straight.



Because I know you are dying for more, here are some action shots from the parade:





Of course, we finished off the morning at Kneaders eating their chunky french toast and strawberries 'n cream. I'm not much of a breakfast eater but it is DELICIOUS! I may or may not have finished every one's plate:



The rest of the day was low key and I actually got a nap while Sam took the older three kids to Kung Fu Panda 2. I needed the sleep after the crazy weekend we had--it has been Warner-Palooza with tons of activities and dinners and a family picture and Luke's baptism. I will report on that later!

Happy Fourth everyone!