4th of July

When people tell you "have a safe and happy 4th of July" you usually think about things like fireworks being mishandled or burning yourself roasting marshmallows right? Well our day went badly wrong at the PARADE.

It was a beautiful morning and everyone was in a good mood. Kaitlyn had been looking forward to the parade (and the candy!) for days and was so excited. But the parade had barely begun when a nervous horse was on it's way by and things got out of control when it headed into the crowd - meaning us! Total chaos, with the horse falling down twice - once almost on top of me. Nightmare. Crazy freak accident. EMTs, then a trip to the emergency clinic...But I'll skip to the end result - Kaitlyn had a bloody/swollen nose and a mild concussion (not from the horse - we don't know what hit her). I ended up with 2 stitches in my head, a badly abused right arm (but not broken!), and a large collection of cuts and bruises. We don't have an update on the rider, but at the very least she has a broken leg. And the horse died - not broke his leg and had to be shot, but DIED (there are all kinds of wrong rumors around here) probably from a broken neck. Now, 2 days later Kaitlyn and I are healing quickly so don't worry. And Kaitlyn doesn't seem to be traumatized by it either - she is looking forward to going to the parade on the 24th of July.
(you can kind of see the bruising and swelling on her nose in this photo)

So. We spent the morning at the clinic then went home to recover. We had a BBQ with my family that night then we were all off to the rodeo. And the rodeo, it was great! I think we were all ready for some fun and really enjoyed it. The kids watched everything intently, going from lap to lap and gobbling up lots of cotton candy and licorice. And I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a rodeo that much.

The night that followed was kind of rough, with Sam having to wake Katy up after 4 hours and me not able to get comfortable. Then it was an enjoyable brunch with Sam's family. Kaitlyn was very happy to receive the candy that her cousins had so thoughtfully collected for her at the parade - thanks boys! And that was pretty much the extent of our holiday festivities. Not all bad, but definitely bittersweet.

*sadly my new terrific camera was damaged at the parade, as was the older one that was sitting in the camera bag there so the only photos I have from the day are ones we took using Sam's old camera. My glasses (perscription) were also broken. *sigh* I so hate dealing with the aftermath of this kind of thing.