Fourth of July Weekend

This year feels like a bonus both because the holiday spans the weekend, and because we feel extra freedom after living through last year. 

We helped host the neighborhood parade for the 9th year. It’s so simple and so fun!

Grandpa Mike helped us chalk the walk. 



The big boys ended up walking because most of their friends walked. None of the boys were interested in decorating their bikes this year. 

Fr. Hottovy and Fr. Beardslee led the prayer. 

And of course Michael led the parade!

The band was really good this year, and entertaining too. 

We sent everyone on their way and then Jillian and I sat down for the 15 minutes they were gone. I felt like baking the night before, so I made us some scones. 

125 people showed up for the parade. 


Levi LOVED the marching band. 

That afternoon we did some fireworks. 

Elias chose maximum protection. He didn’t like the loud sounds or the smells. 

Lewis was fascinated by the trash. 

Levi was a big fan of the snap n’ pops. I’ve never seen a two year old enjoy those. 

He did really well with the big fireworks as long as he had his earmuffs on. 

When the fireworks were gone we switched to water balloons!

Poor Grandma got soaked. 



Levi had so many new experiences that day. He also loved water balloons. 

Summer Days

This was a fun project to stumble upon! For a Burda boy, there’s nothing like watching a giant ash tree being cut down. Such cool equipment. 

The boys like Polly Pockets and our friends just happen to have a solid collection of them. The Wizard of Oz is definitely a favorite, so we’re going to watch the movie today. 

Lewis released his last two butterflies. He hatched five out of five! 

These two are very into the Water Wow books lately. They both go straight for the fire fighter pages. 

Lewis Starts Gymnastics

Lewis decided to give gymnastics a try since there is room in Augustine’s class. He loves it too. 

Day 3, Little Boys

We went down to Union Station and took a street car ride. Elias found it interesting to count the stops, watch out the window, and listen to the automated announcements. He wanted to understand the route map, but I couldn’t stand up and get closer to the map to show him. After going round and round we settled on counting the stops with our fingers. Seven stops going, nine stops coming back. 

I just love packing a stroller and taking kids into a city. Every part of the experience can be a fun adventure. At one point Elias said, “Mom, this is a lot like a subway”. I said, “You’re right! The only difference is we are up on the street, and a subway is below the street in tunnels. Sub means below.” It was a very impressive observation considering he has never seen a subway, although there is a Curious George episode about it. Legit reference…George is a city kid. 

They were fascinated by the water wheel. I tried to explain the uses to Elias but the concepts were a bit to abstract since this wheel was not hooked up to anything that we could see…and there was no river. 

We explored City Market but it was pretty quiet on a Tuesday morning. Then we rode the street car back to Union Station and they loved the ride again. 

Day 3, Big Boys

World War I Museum

Family Trip, Day 3

Federal Reserve Money Museum









The cash vault was fascinating, especially the robots that transport the money into the vault. 





It said this location shreds $4 million a DAY. You can take a little bag of shredded money for free as a souvenir. 

We split up for the rest of the morning and then met back up at Union Station and headed home exhausted from all the fun.