It’s that time of year again. Carmel Fest celebrates Independence Day in a big way. Mommy, Eric, and I went on July 3rd to walk around, get some dinner, and Eric played on a couple of activities. It was a fun evening.
On July 4th, I took Eric to the parade that runs through downtown Carmel. Mommy was not feeling well, so it was just us boys for the morning. I promised Mommy that I would take plenty of photos of the parade for her. Mommy loves parades! this would be Eric’s first parade. He was very excited about going. We drove downtown and parked the car. Eric and I had to walk a few blocks to the parade. Luckily, I remembered to bring his stroller. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a chair for myself to sit. I grabbed our emergency blanket from the trunk and put it in the bottom of Eric’s stroller. I thought I could sit on it when we found a spot to watch the parade.
The parade was fun. There were lots of loud fire trucks and police cars; many marching bands; cool cars; clowns; dancers; motorcycles; and more. As promised, I took may photos and video for Mommy. I bought us some popcorn from the boy scouts, as they walked up and down the street before the parade started. Popcorn is one of Eric’s favorite snacks.
When the parade was almost over, Eric announced that he had to go potty. Wow! I was surprised that he lasted this long. It was very hot outside, and it was a long parade. We had to walk about 2 blocks to find a rest room other than a few bars that were open very near the parade. We found Bub’s was open, so we went in to use the bathroom. When Eric was finished, I bought us some ice cream, and we went back outside. Eric could not decide if he wanted to go back to the parade or sit in the shade. The decision was actually made for us, as the parade had already finished by the time we came out of Bub’s. We sat across the street in the shade of a tall building, while we ate our ice cream. After a few minutes, it was more like drinking our ice cream due to the very hot weather. Eric and I had very much fun at the parade!
When we got home, Mommy was just a few minutes behind us. She had gone over to Grandma G’s house. Grandma, Aunt Carol, and Tyler were all coming over to go to the Carmel Fest. Eric and I agreed to go with them. Carmel Fest 2 days in a row and a parade! A very busy weekend indeed. Not to mention a backyard party later that evening at a friend of Mommy.
Later on the fourth, we went to a party. Eric had a lot of fun playing with the other kids at the party. He threw water balloons and played baseball!
On the way home, Mommy tried to take his picture in the car, but Eric held up his cup to block his face and told Mommy, “No pictures in the car, Mommy!”
At home, we threw some “poppers” on the ground to listen the the loud “crack!” sound that they made. We also had a few small fireworks after the sun started to set. Eric stayed up past his usual bed time to see the fireworks. He also was still holding on to the water balloon that he had brought home from the party. After a while, I told him to go ahead and throw it on the sidewalk. I figured the sooner he let it go, the easier the separation would be. He had carefully carried it out of the party, and asked me to put it in the trunk until we got home. Instead, I found a safe place for it in his cup holder, and I told him not to play with it while we were in the car.
This was a very long but fun weekend! Eric really enjoyed the Carmel Fest, the parade, the party, and the fireworks! So did I!