The LaGreca Family

July 4th = freedom = independence = red, white & blue = celebration =  summer = swimming = eating = drinking = games = fireworks = a good night’s sleep.

We spent our 4th of July at Aunt Patty’s Pool Party Extravaganza.  Plenty of food and fun for everyone.  And, it didn’t take long for the “Sponge Wars” to begin.

NCL saw the pool and got SO excited……however, he refused to go swimming the ENTIRE day (it was the strangest thing – our best guess is that he thought the water was too cold???)

Let the WAR begin. Uncle David gets a few good shots in.

Meg and Steve retaliate  – two on one.

NCL goes through Sponge War Boot Camp.

Looking good NCL!

The 5th failed attempt to get NCL in the pool. And this kid LOVES to swim…you would never know it from the look in his face

Lots of red, white and blue – including the new “gee” that Nicholas got from cousin Mary.  He was SO excited. He hasn’t put it down since he got it yesterday.

And, what is a pool party without SOMEONE getting thrown in — in dry clothes!  It just so happened to be our hostess with the mostess.  (Joe threw Aunt Patty in just after she “claimed” to have a cell phone in her pocket…ya right!!)

She was a good sport about it…he he.

So, NCL wasn’t interested in going swimming in the pool, but he had a blast with the hose.  Funny kid.

Drinking from the hose, I love it!

As the song says,

“God Bless America…..my home sweet home!“

Adult night out on Friday night!  We went to the Padres game with Mary and Grant (Joe’s parents gave us their 2 tickets and offered to babysit the little man – THANKS Mom & Dad!)

We all had a great time.  I will break it down into 3 categories. (1) The Good, (2) The Bad, and (3) The Ugly.

THE GOOD

* The weather was great!

* Our seats were AMAZING (thanks Brian and Wells Fargo for the AWESOME hook-up!) There is no zoom on the picture below. We were pretty close to the field!

* We had hotdogs and drinks…and of course, sunflower seeds!  YUM!

* Free parking (the “free” is the good part…but see below in the “ugly” section for comments on the parking).

* GREAT fireworks show right after the game! (Worked out perfect since we didn’t get to see fireworks on the 4th)

* Met good friends (Jen & Tre) for gelato after the game – yumalicious!

THE BAD

*The Padres lost

THE UGLY

* The Padres lost to the Dodgers.

* Petco Park was FILLED with Dodger fans (ugh!)

* We were parked on the 8th floor of a parking garage and when we got back to our car, the line of cars going down/out was NOT moving! What a mess!

* Building a baseball stadium in downtown San Diego? Seriously – what were they thinking?!  The traffic is unbelievable to and from the game.

* Manny Ramirez’ first game back from suspension. I guess the lack of steroids affected his game, because he certainly didn’t contribute to their win. (He did succeed in creating mayhem in Downtown San Diego, with his return).

Once wasn’t enough

Joe’s cousin Mary is a HUGE fan of the fair, so we had to go back while they were in town.  We all had a great time and NCL got to ride a few rides.  Oh – and we ate…..that’s just what we do.

Joe & I actually brought sandwiches with us (hey, Fair food gets expensive!)

First Fair ride for NCL was the kiddie boat ride.  He got to ride all by himself!

Cousin Mary took NCL on the “Mary”-go-Round.  I think they both had a great time.

This is SUCH a GREAT picture of both of them!

I got to take NCL on the big Semi-Truck ride.

It never fails – no matter where we go, NCL will find water (aka. “wa wa”). And he can’t keep his hands out of it! (And this “ride” was free!)

And the last ride of the day for NCL was the giant slide.  We all thought he would really like it.  I think it’s pretty clear how he felt about the slide, based on the picture below.

When the ride was over, we told Joe that NCL didn’t seem to be having a good time….in fact, he looked petrified.  Joe said “he was fine.”  Then we showed him the proof (I had video, and Joe’s Dad took the picture above) – and Joe still said “he was fine.”

We are all still laughing at the look on Nicholas’ face.  Poor kid.  He was hanging on for dear life! (Don’t worry, he didn’t cry, or seem to be bothered at all, once the ride was over).