4th of July

We were joined at Iowa City's fireworks by my cousin, Jennifer, and her husband John on the 3rd. After last year, we weren't how Sylvia would react but she did great. Dan was responsible for bringing ear plugs for her, and she reminded him of that on a daily basis the few weeks leading up to the 4th. Eric seemed to enjoy the fireworks but always wanted to be pretty close to mom or dad.
On the 4th of July we went to the Coralville parade. My dad headed down early to set up a tent which provided wonderful shade. There was even a pack and play for Eric which was a life saver. John and Jennifer joined us again as well as my Aunt Sarah and her boys, Bill and Becky's family, Great Nana and of course Grandma and Grandpa. Sylvia knows all about collecting candy and wanted to make sure I had brought a bag for her. She liked sharing her candy with the people around her. When given a box of crayons, she said she wanted to share them to someone else because she already had crayons. I love her generous heart. We were all pretty tired by the parade's end...especially Eric.
Sylvia enjoyed doing sparklers for the first time. Last year, we didn't trust her not to grab the hot end.

We enjoyed spending lots and lots of time with the Hoefer family while my dad's five siblings were in town. Uncle Lee is a science teacher in Georgia. Adam, Katie and Sylvia got to help him make a car out of an old stereo my parents had sitting on their curb.
I was asked to take a Hoefer family picture. After figuring out who should stand where and getting the sun off every one's face, we were able to get a few successful pictures. I should do a post with the many, many pictures of my dad talking or singing thus having a funny face. He wasn't the only one causing problems but he was the main culprit. I wonder if that's how things were when they were growing up.