Happy 4th of July

This year we really celebrated the 4th of July in full.  To support her Dad's campaign, Sylvie "marched" in Hopkinton's annual 4th of July "Horribles" Parade.  Joining her were her mom, Aunt Emily, Uncle Pat and his friend Kem, and supporters Ken Weismantel from Hopkinton, and John Cronin and Jeff Snow from Holliston, along with some other folks we picked up along the way.  Boy, did Syl's Dad appreciate the support!

We weren't sure initially what a "Horribles" Parade was.  As it turns out, "Horribles" means there are satirical floats... and spectators are encouraged to spray marchers with water guns and hoses, and to pelt them with water balloons.  

As it turned out, this was an awful lot of fun!

Sylvie was hit by an errant water balloon - not directly, but she caught a good splash.  She thought that was great, laughing, clapping and lapping the water off her chin.  

And as things turned out, that was a break!  The judges of the parade took note of her "sacrifice" for  her dad, and when the time for awards came around after the parade, they called her up to the gazebo, told the crowd what she'd done, and gave her a trophy for "Youngest Participant."  Sylvie and her parents were quite pleased.  She clapped and squealed while he crowd of 50 or so folks on the Hopkinton Common cheered for her.

All in all it was a really fun experience.  

Here's a little photo montage.  The photos are also in the new July gallery, of course...

Later on in the day, Melissa, Sylvie and I headed to Wayland to meet the newest member of the Green clan, 3-week-old Avery Marie.  She's fantastic, of course.  

Sylvie got a little more than she bargained for though, as 2-year-old Zachary Green, who decided a couple of weeks ago that he is quite fond of Sylvie, decided to get a little bit... affectionate.

Dad was glad to see Sylvie has the right instincts in dealing with amorous boys (Arm Bar!).  But Zachary comes from a good family... when she's 30 or so, he's welcomed to ask her out to a movie or something...