keeping cool when it sizzles

Every year our neighborhood has a Fourth of July celebration.  And every year, some creative and talented people pull together to make it even better than the year before. 

A look inside a police car--"this is where the bad guys go, so don't be a bad guy."

It was the first year the kids had their own police escort for the bike parade.

Josiah still has not figured out the parade is not a race. He thought he had won and raised his fist in victory.

The biggest draw, especially this year: the water!!

Who needs swimsuits?

One neighbor found this pattern for a bike wash and had some neighborhood dads help put it together.  What a perfect year for it to debut, with temps topping 100 by afternoon!

How many passes until you are clean? 

As many as it takes to get cool!!

And you don't have to be a child to enjoy it!

The morning was so much fun, but also so centered on food.  We all ate breakfast before we left so we were less tempted by the breakfast food and brought some treats along for Josiah, but it is still hard when he has to sit out of the candy parade.  He handled it very well, knowing by now that such things are not possible.  But still, perhaps next year I can find some special things to toss his way.  Candy that works for Josiah is one of the hardest things for me to find for him.

There were snowcones, and Josiah was delighted to experiment with unflavored ice.  But that sparked an idea, and tonight I made lemonade slushies for supper.  Ice + lemonade in the blender = a cool treat!  And the possibilities of varying the recipe are endless!

Other natural ideas to beat the heat: Annie's has some new fruit snack bunnies and the pink lemonade flavor works great for our little guy!  He also loves Edy's mango bar popsicles: these come in several natural flavors (read carefully as lime has artificial color) but many have ingredients like cornstarch that Josiah can't handle.  I'm glad we were able to come up with one that works!  And finally, Luigi's Italian ice are naturally flavored with no artificial colors.  My older kids can have at those!

Stay cool!!