Well that was a nice blog break. We celebrated July 4th with a road trip to see family, eat some American delicacies, play a surprising amount of backyard ball and watch fireworks. I also learned a little along the way….
Thursday we visited with my family, including my aunt and uncle in from New Jersey. I love when they visit because I love them….but I also LOVE that they always bring Jersey Bagels. Jersey Bagels are nothing like the limp, tasteless mounds of breakfast bread the big chains try to pass off. Jersey Bagels have a firm crust, and chewy deliciousness inside you can’t get in any other bread product, except for maybe Jersey Rye, but that’s a carb for another post. Anyway, my aunt and uncle were there, along with their gift of bagels and life was good.
The car ride up to my parents’ house? Was long. Oh so long. It was a good thing I brought snacks. The backseat enjoyed many a string cheese, some blueberries and granola bars. The front seat enjoyed Turtle Chex Mix Bars, compliments of My Blog Spark. They were a tasty treat–sweet chocolate, salty peanuts, caramel–yum! By looking at the wrapper, I learned *If* you were to eat, say, one bar, you’d have a delicious snack of less than 130 calories and 4 grams of fiber–great deal, eh? BgK and I, well, we were stuck in traffic….so we each ate three. I’m not doing the math on the calories, but hey, we each got 12 g of fiber! Yay us!
Friday, we visited friends whom we haven’t seen since Mam was about 5 months old. They now have twins just younger than Jr. I think they were a little nervous that our visit would turn into blog post….I promised them it wouldn’t. Or least it wouldn’t with pictures and what not. I will share with you what I learned from them though: *If* your are a shopping-cart-cover kind of mom…here is another use for said cover..the baby bucket swings at the park. I’m sure styles of cover and swing vary, but it the planets are aligned, the cover fits over the swing so you get the same sort of protection you do when you use it on a shopping cart. *If* you want such a thing. 🙂
On the way home, we stopped by Rainbow Cone, that southside Chicago institution that the Kahuna family knows and loves. What I learned: they don’t really have public restrooms, but the Kia dealership next door is happy to oblige a 4 yr old doing the potty dance….
Saturday we drove from NW Indiana up the O’Hare vicinity for a 
family birthday party–many cousins, much fun. On the way up, I remember that we really need to get one of those plastic holders for our I-PASS….my arm got a little tired.
Once the rain let up, the kids went outside and MAM learned to hit off a tee!! Didn’t your daughter learn how to do that in a dress and sparkly shoes? Mine did!
*I* learned though, that three days in a row of long car rides wears on a child. On the way home, we were able to see fireworks all the way from O’Hare to my parents’ house. M
AM though, was done with the car business. “I don’t want to watch the fireworks in the car! I want to watch them on a blanket!!!”
AM though, was done with the car business. “I don’t want to watch the fireworks in the car! I want to watch them on a blanket!!!”Which is what we did Sunday. For whatever reason, the fireworks in Indy were postponed til last night. We tweeted up with a friend, found a great grassy knoll (no, I’m not telling you where, because there was free parking, restroom access and no crowds) and watched the show. On a blanket. Because really, that is the best way to watch them! 
You deserve a medal for the car rides! Glad you got to enjoy a great 4th with the fam AND fireworks…
I think we're still celebrating….We haven't seemed to end the fun which started Saturday…