Last year’s 4th of July celebration swept us off our feet so completely that we were eager for it again this year.
The party started with a free pancake breakfast in the park, which we grabbed and ate on our back patio.
We decked ourselves with red, white, and blue, took our decorated bikes, and joined the neighborhood parade. Seeing lots of people I knew at the celebration showed how much we’ve made connections already in just one year.
Cooper enjoyed a couple bouncy houses, and then he and Brynn (& Mommy) made some patriotic necklaces. 
We spent the rest of the time standing in line for free cotton candy and snow cones.
Silas, on the other hand, set up his very first lemonade stand and made some money. Stephen helped him buy the supplies, make the sign, and mix the punch. 
After paying Stephen back the $4 for supplies, Silas came out ahead with $9 profit!
For lunch we joined some friends for a BBQ and waterplay for the kids. Then it was off to the neighbors’ for swimming and another cookout.
Some friends from church came and hung out with us for supper and fireworks in the cul-de-sac. The kids were adorable to watch as they delighted in the sparklers and the fireworks they had picked out. 
I thought, at first, that we’d be missing out by not going to the big local firework display, but I was wrong. Cooper’s unadulterated childish joy and Silas’s complete absorption with their own fireworks was so much better than a large display.
Happy Independence Day!
What a fun 4th of July tradition! Who organizes/sponsors all of it?
Our community network organizes it every year. They are a group of volunteers that started long ago as a bunch of moms seeking to build community and neighborliness. It’s blossomed since then! Various churches and companies donate the free food. People (like us) who have houses backing up to the park donate water or electricity for the bouncy houses/dunk tank. They ask for donations every year, but we don’t have a formal HOA. It’s a pretty cool set-up.