festivities leading up to the fourth

Our girls have been very, very excited about this holiday weekend.  There were lots of reasons to be excited: flags to wave, new dresses (from Nan) and ribbons (snagged at Target's dollar spot) to wear, a new sprinkler to play in, and  -- most importantly -- a party!  We'd invited Nan and Grandpa, the cousins, aunts and uncles (and even cousin Emmy's grandparents visiting from Australia) to join us for a barbecue on the third.  It wasn't meant to be a party -- not really, anyway.  It was just supposed to be a little get-together.  But our girls are convinced that any visitors at all constitute a party, and we happen to like the way they think.

Of course, a party needs a cake.  At some point in my internet wanderings I'd come across this pretty little cake, and I was determined to try my hand at it.  So, Friday we baked.  The girls were my helpers.

red, white, and blue layer cakes.  and bakers who may or may not have sampled some sugary batter...

I assembled the cake on Saturday morning before "the party."  The girls helped with the frosting, but the actual assembly of the cake was rather exacting, so they watched more than helped.  While I was busy piecing the cake together, John David dragged over a little chair, climbed atop it, and helped himself to the cake scraps.  American ingenuity at work, perhaps?

absolutely delighted with himself

Eventually we managed to clean up the kitchen and the helpers.  On a whim, we shopped the closet, discovering red and (light) blue streamers and a couple packages of balloons.  We twisted the streamers along the fence in the backyard.  The girls picked out the red and blue balloons, and we inflated those.  We were ready for a real party!  Everyone brought food (lots and lots of tasty food) and the grown-ups sat in the backyard while the cousins ran through the sprinkler, slid and splashed in the wading pool, and even played a bit of toddler-friendly baseball.  What could be more American than that?

Jim literally has to hold John David back -- otherwise he's convinced he should be playing, too, no matter who's holding the bat

her form cracks me up!

Before everyone got too tired or too, too full, we cut the cake.  To my surprise and delight, it actually worked!

not the best photograph, but you get the idea

I think we can call that a success!  At least, Madeline seemed to think so...

The girls knew what they were talking about.  Our not-quite-fourth-of-July party was a party, indeed!