Independence Day

The 4th of July

Parades. Food. Sunshine. 

Red, White & Blue. Families. Flags. 

History. Grill outs. Fireworks. Swimming pool. 

Snow Cones. Homemade Ice Cream. 

What is not to love about this fabulous holiday. It is by far my all time favorite holiday of the year. The history buff in me loves all the history behind it. The American in me loves the patriotism that comes out  of all of us. I love the city we live in and how many flags the residents have out in front of their homes. This year, I vowed to do something smashing - to make up for all my years of talking about it and then doing nothing. Well, sadly, I did nothing again this year! But thankfully, the city came through with plans for me that I just had to show up for. 

My fantastic BIL just moved to a place that was literally right on the parade route. Being that the culture here is to camp out on the parade route to secure your spot in the morning, I was really grateful for Mike's location advantage; saving me the horror of having to sleep on the sidewalk. (which I would never do). Not only did we not have to sleep out, we got some prime real estate right under a huge tree which provided shade for the entire parade! Awesome.

We started the morning right, meeting up with the cousins with donuts, fruit, and OJ. Mark gave Cam his first donut - powdered of course. So although the shirt is ruined, the pictures were worth every bite. I was shocked at how long the parade actually was. I was expecting a little hometown parade of 30 minutes or so. But the Freedom Festival really pulled out all the stops with a whopping 2 hour shin-dig. Again, so grateful for the shaded seats. 

After the parade, we headed over to the booths again. We were there last night, and in retrospect, that was a fantastic idea. Because today, it was so packed you couldn't even enjoy it if you had all the patience in the world. I snagged my funnel cake that I was craving yesterday, which was sadly a disappointing purchase, and then we scooted out to save ourselves from the chaos that it all was. 

After a quick nap this afternoon, we're off the parents' to enjoy more food, family, and the finale fireworks. I have never manned fireworks before, being from California where it is illegal. So - there will most likely be a post to follow for that.

I couldn't post something not 4th-y today. I am so grateful to be an American and all the freedoms and blessings that this country enjoys. And an entire day to celebrate couldn't be more grand for my little American heart. 

Happy 4th of July. God Bless America, land that I love!