A Visit from California- Part 4- A day of freedom

I have never been so busy on the 4th of July.....ever. We went to the pancake breakfast in the morning, and then headed straight over to see the turtle races and frog jumping contest. It was great fun. The food was good, and there were a lot of people out. I betcha they made some good money with that breakfast. In the afternoon I took Grace to her school so she could be in the parade with the band (GO BEEBS!!!!), then we all headed down for the parade and the fireworks. It was a lovely day.

Waiting in line for our breakfast.

I love my Beebs. She always makes me smile.
A sweet little bear.

I love the picture. More importantly, I love this little girl, and I LOVE when she hugs me like this. It always makes me melt.

Staring down Papi's food. Ronald was helping Alexander eat some pancakes, too.

The crew.

Hmmm.....I'm not so sure about this.

Wait a minute, this is the coolest thing EVER! I want one!

GROSS!

Waiting patiently for the parade. Next year I want to sit right by the judge's booth, so I can see my favorite part actually perform.....I'll explain later.

LOOK! It's Auntie BEEBS!!!! Her poor arms were so sore from playing the cymbals the entire parade, but she did great. Oh, we cheered really loud when she came by.

Okay......here comes my favorite part.... I LOVE the drums. And I love to dance. And I LOVE to watch black people dance. Sometimes, I wish I were one of them, so I could dance more freely, and no one would say to me.....are you mixed? Cuz you can DANCE! (Why can't white girls be good dancers, too....come on people!) Every year I look forward to one thing in the parade, the black boys beating on their drums, and the black girls dancing up a storm. It makes me cry. Every year. Sobbing like a baby.....seriously. I cannot express enough my love for the drums and for dancing. There are no words to explain it. They haven't invented any yet. If I could join those girls, I would. I love the way they move. They aren't afraid of what people think about how they look, or how they move, they just DO IT! That's what I love. When you dance, you just move to how your body says for you to move at that time, and it's a beautiful thing. Dancing makes me happy, so very happy. And I miss it. I think that's why I cry. I miss dancing. I want to be those girls. I want to dance.

Oh, and Isabella was dancing with the bands, too. It was GREAT!



Waiting for the fireworks.

A sleepy Auntie Beebs (on the right, laying down) and some excited other people.

This boy LOVES his Auntie Beebs!