The flag shirts are on!  Let’s grill some food and then blow something up!

Grandma and Gichan came over for the food (and to help with another project – more on that later), but left before we blew anything up.  Ane’s friend Katie came over to help with the fireworks – yet another American first for her!

The boys were really into the fireworks (and the Webmaster was experimenting with his phone camera’s settings, which resulted in some really great shots).

Even Thumper was willing to participate this year, now equipped with noise-cancelling headphones that made everything so much better.

And after we finished with our fireworks, we listened to the neighborhood continue to explode into the wee hours of the night.

It was a weird day.  Thumper had no therapy session scheduled, but Rerun had camp.  So I decided it would be the perfect day to take the biggest boy and the littlest boy to the zoo.

There is just something indefinably adorable about this picture.

We did a lot of walking around – it was a chilly and wet day – and we made sure to find dry spots to see some of our favorite animals.  The boys were in good moods and kept up pretty well until lunchtime.

Thumper really wanted to ride the carousel.  Tad was kind of stunned that he was being so insistent, but we had a couple of free rides left.  So we used them.

Up and down, round and round – this might just be better than an escalator in Thumper’s mind!

Don’t let Tad’s face fool you – he was busy making faces at himself in the mirrors as we went around and around.  He enjoyed it in his own way just as much as his brother did.

And with all the walking, and then speech therapy after picking Rerun up, I wore Thumper out.

I hope he dreamed of the carousel.

It’s summertime, and with Rerun at camp, Thumper knows that he’s going to get some quality escalator time.

With time to waste before his therapy sessions start, once Rerun is off to camp, Thumper is eager to spend time going on the “uppy-down.”  We have a few favorite spots at U Village nearby, both covered and uncovered, indoor and outdoor.  This funny bunny boy would ride escalators for hours if I would let him.

I’m sure that we are getting weird looks from most people, but hey, Thumper doesn’t care and he’s happy.  Which means it’s a cheap and easy fun time.

Day one of year three, for Rerun.

Yes, Rerun is back at Apex Summer Camp, flying solo this year.  Tad has aged out of the program, and while we had hoped that a teen program would be implemented this year, it didn’t happen.  So Rerun, experienced camper that he is, will be our sole family representative this year.  (Thumper is old enough for camp, but not yet skilled enough for this program.)

That smile belies how much complaining went on beforehand about the application of sunscreen.