4th of July cont.

Our family at the parade (read blog below first!)

4th of July

An Aussie family, living in Chicago, going to a Chinese church, marching in a 4th of July parade. Huh? It was great fun! We went in the local parade with some people from our church. It was quite a rainy day, but the streets were still lined with people. It was funny to see people that we knew on the sidelines watching us. Important for any American celebration, participants in the parade threw out candy to the children watching. Dante and Angela took this job very seriously. Gracie had been told we were marching in the parade, so march she did, with her knees going up and down, waving an American flag. The other participants in the parade were local businesses, and local charities. It was a great experience.

Getting ready to go, outside our church.

Standing in line with the banner ready. About to move off.

Another of the parade participants.

This guy is the owner of the local diner. He is a real character. Lots of fun.

8 yrs old!

Dante enjoyed opening presents on the morning of his birthday. In the afternoon he came home to his new bicycle from Granny and Pa, David and Cris, which he LOVES! We had a fun dinner at Red Robin, where all the waiters sang a very upbeat happy birthday to Dante. And, of course, we had birthday cake (a chocolate brownie) with candles to blow out. A few days later we had a party with some of Dante's friends. Stay tuned for more photos in a future blog.