Fourth of July Parade

How is your 4th going? I hope you're having fun. Here are some snaps from my neighborhood's annual Independence Day parade this morning. Small-town fun in the middle of the big city: I love it.

Here's the local Boy Scouts troop:

And here's a local cutie, taking it all in from the sidelines:

Somebody has a connection to one of the local TV or movie studios. They borrowed about 10 of these little go-carts, then invited friends and neighbors to decorate them as mini-floats. (Only in L.A.!)

There were bigger floats, too. This flatbed truck with the blue sides was full of teenagers:

And the theme on this pickup was "MerMade in America."

It had teenage "mermaids" in the back, too!

The local high-school band provided the toe-tapping tunes:

People in the parade walked, biked, scootered, roller-skated, and motorbiked the parade route:

Here's The Hubby, walking Pao Pao and wearing his traditional red-and-white striped polo shirt. It's so old, he only takes it out once a year, because in a few dozen more washings, it's bound to fall apart:

Dogs are a big part of this parade. People dress them up, put Deelie Bobbers on them, even spray-paint their fur with temporary red, white, and blue stars. Here's Mu Shu, getting a pat from a little parade-goer:

This cute guy with the blond eyelashes doesn't seem to mind the triple scrutiny from our pups:

Along the parade route, folks set up chairs to cheer everybody on:

One household even gave out awards for the best floats. These guys nabbed one:

Our local police force blocked off streets so we could safely cross several busy avenues:

I whipped up a quick, cute, and free parade costume for each pug. I cut the collar off an old business shirt, then used some leftover ribbon to fashion a "bow tie," which I sewed to one side of the collar. Using the top button of each shirt, it fastens around the dog's neck. The pugs got loads of compliments for their natty attire:

The parade ended at the local park, where there were treats for everyone--watermelon wedges, cupcakes, and corn dogs. Here's Won Ton, enjoying his small slice of watermelon:

It was a fun, but tiring morning for our pups. They flopped on the entry's cool tile floor as soon as we got home:

The pups are napping now; their busy day is over. For the rest of us, there's still a BBQ dinner and watching the high-flying professional fireworks at CBS studios--for free--from the convenience of an intersection one street over.

If you don't have any old business shirts lying around, you can rock this simple costume for just a buck or so. My local Goodwill sells men's business shirts for a dollar, and each "bow tie" uses less than 12 inches of ribbon.

I'm already thinking ahead to Thanksgiving--maybe, white shirt collars and turkey-themed ribbons?