4th of July

The Dobbins clan has pretty strong 4th of July traditions since we started going to "the hill" for the holiday but we've be changing and modifying our tradition over the past few years. Previously we always went to Harbor Springs for the craft show and parade, back to the house to catch a nap before the evening fireworks back in Harbor Springs. This year we engaged in a few more toddler and adult friendly activities which I think I can speak for everyone that they were all good changes. Caroline and Dad participated in the Paul Revere run in HS. Caroline had to be her typical overachiever self and run 19 miles. Dad ran his second race ever and completed 3 miles in under 30 minutes. mom, Ian and I came down to watch them both cross the finish line.

Since Ian had a late night the night before we thought maybe he'd take a quick snooze before we were off to our next activity. Instead of attending the HS parade we decided to enjoy a Roast and Toast lunch in Petoskey. this was an outstanding idea because we were the only ones enjoying their back porch. Athens we walked up the street to purchase treats for Dad. We were close to the gelato store so we had to buy gelato. We enjoyed our treats in the park next door. I off course chose the plain vanilla for Ian because you just never know what a 2-1/2 year-old is going to like but he ended up eating most of my blood orange gelato. stinker! We thought Ian might enjoy puttsing in the sand at the beach so we walked down to the Petoskey beach and we were right. Ian played in the sand, waded in the water and fell in the water a few times.

After a while we loaded back in the car and headed back to "the hill" so Ian could have a nap. The rest of the crew went back in town to visit the craft show. We enjoyed dinner on our deck. We took a quick trip to the pool and had a great time.

Since I didn't know how Ian might respond to the fireworks (he's been extra sensitive to loud noises recently) we took both cars down so I could bring Ian back. He surprised us all and sat in Grandma's lap for the entire fireworks show. He even started to fall asleep during the grand finale. Guess it wasn't too big of a deal for him.

It was clear that this was the latest Ian had been up (last time he would have only been up in order to eat) because when I laid him on his back to change his pants and put on his pjs he immediately rolled over and assumed his sleeping position. He did this every time I'd turned him back over on his back.

I really enjoyed the less busy 4th of July activities and I think we had a happier toddler in the end.

For extra pictures go back to Ian's Summer 2011 Album

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