A Fourth worthy of fireworks. Not that we saw any...

This Fourth of July week/weekend was the kind you see in movies -- sunshine, beach, parades (two in one day!), cookies, ice cream AND gelato, lots of walking down quaint Main Streets, and all family, all the time. In a good way. No fireworks, because the girls are still too young to really enjoy them, and would probably just be scared silly and way overtired (over-sugared, over-spoiled, over-sunned, etc.). I remember last year, when Berit was 1 (and even more so the year before, when she was a few months old), our neighbors lit fireworks in their driveways, as normal American families do on the Fourth of July. I was furious, and shouted out the windows and called my friends on our block to be sure it wasn't them, in fear they'd wake my sleeping child. This year we barely noticed it. Ah, the magic of the second baby.

Trevor's brother Jason, sister-in-law Stephanie, and their children Annie, 3 1/2, and Jemma, 18 months, were here all week, much to Berit's delight. Trevor was also thrilled to continue the vacation with his brother, which started last week in Belgium, and Stephanie and I enjoy hanging out and chatting about books, kids, writing, the family and other non-stressful things as we wrangle the kids and nag the boys to help us out just a little. Good dads that they are, they always do. Annie and Berit were especially cute this year, as they actually played together, singing and marching and running and dancing, and also yelling, jumping, climbing and occasionally arguing. Jason said this week would probably go down as the favorite holiday for a long time, and I think he was right. I can't wait until my girls can also stay at Trevor's parents' house when Annie and Jemma are there, and the fun can be amplified by sleepovers and fun breakfasts. They'd all just wake each other up now. Maybe next year. Wonder who'll be pregnant then? :)

The entire family is currently sleeping, Mosey included, though Marta is stirring and should be up any minute now. I think she's teething, or has a belly ache, because she was up all night and has been the past couple of nights. Berit was also awake last night, shockingly, screaming in an out-of-control manner because she didn't want to be asleep. After a few hours of first examining to be sure she was OK, then lovingly asking her to go back to sleep, then telling her to go to sleep or else, I whipped her out of bed and put her in the bathtub, giving her the option of crying there or going to sleep in her bed. She chose bed. It worked, hallelujah, though I'm not looking forward to whatever issues I've created for bathtime.