a beautiful day in the neighborhood

as some of you know, we live right across the road from the sikh temple.  i took this picture last fall when i was playing with my kids at the park.  the pigeons are often circling the dome and i've been so amazed at their formation....seemingly random but still synchronized.

this weekend, they are replacing the domes in preparation for their big celebration tomorrow.  i've seen the domes sitting in the parking lot for weeks, but yesterday they finally installed them.  i took jojo over to get a closer look - it was quite the operation and involved a huge crane, so my little boy was very entertained.

these little girls were taking a good look at us, so i thought i'd go out on a limb and take a picture...my suave and handsome son helped out by sliding in next to them ("i'm holding her" he exclaimed when he saw the picture).

i'm pretty shy when it comes to taking strangers' pictures, especially at close range, though i'm working at trying to be bolder (nate!).  this time, when these ladies saw me taking pictures of the kids, they asked for one of themselves, which sure made my job easier!  when i showed them after, the lady the second from the left said "much good".

and one last shot of the installation.  i'll show a picture of the finished product soon.

everyone in our neighborhood is so excited for the big parade and party to follow tomorrow.  today the tents started going up all along the parade route...can't wait to share more pictures next week!