Fourth of July...Minus the Fireworks

The Shirts family on the Fourth of July, 2008.

This year we decided to make a long weekend out of the Fourth of July. The first big event took place at the zoo (although we had just been a week before, we can never seem to get enough of the place)--and the kids had been looking forward to it for weeks. This time we went with Grandma Barrington, Uncle Michael (my brother), and his girlfriend, Caroline. We saw the animals, the highlight being Scotty, the baby elephant. The new tiger exhibit is also pretty cool; the tiger was laying right next to the glass so we got a really close look. (The top picture is of all of us posing by the fence that Uncle Jeff built for his Eagle Scout project. It's still there after all these years!)

Finally came the big event: Dora the Explorer! Yes, Dora was visiting the zoo, so we trudged up the hill that was insanely too far away for a pregnant woman to have to go. Unfortunately, it seemed like everyone else had also come to see Dora as well. We got in line just as they announced that Dora was taking a 15 minute break--not the end of the world. Then she returned and we slowly made our way to the front. Michael and Caroline were real troopers, since I know that seeing Dora wouldn't be such a highlight for them. Finally there was only one person in front of us--we could have reached out and touched Dora right then. Of course, it was at that moment that Dora had to take another break, and we ended up standing around for another 10 minutes. But when we were finally able to have our turn, the kids were delighted.

It was better then they had imagined; Boots, Backpack, and Map were there as well. Katie even gave Dora a hug and petted Boots's nose, which is saying a lot, as Kate is very shy around new people (and sometimes people she's known for a while). I guess all the Dora episodes we watch made her not so shy. So we got our pictures and then headed back to Grandma's house for a family barbeque with Grandpa, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Monica, Andrew, and baby Allison. Was it worth the long wait to see Dora? Well, the kids both said that it was their favorite part of the zoo so the answer is yes. Will we do it again if she comes back? The answer to that is not so clear cut.

Check out these Fourth of July moves!

Kate and cousin Andrew hamming it up for the camera.

The rest of the weekend we spent up in Louisville. On Saturday I had a lot of shopping to do so Micah, Grandpa, and Michael took the kids miniature golfing. The kids played in the backyard pool and had a great time. After that Micah and I saw Indiana Jones (it was fun, I'd recommend it). On Sunday we went to our beautiful niece's blessing. Baby Allison (my brother, Jeff's, daughter) was blessed and we were lucky enough to be there. She looked so cute and the kids had a great time. Overall it was a really fun weekend. We never did see any fireworks, which is fine because both of the kids are scared of them. Maybe next year!
Having a splash in the backyard (Kate wouldn't take off the Dora hat...I guess she was still revelling in the bliss of having actually met her favorite cartoon character.)