Independance Day

Well, if you know me, you know I love holidays. Any holiday basically turns me into a 5 year old, and the 4th of July is no different. I love red, white and blue decorations. I love grilling burgers (ok making Ty grill burgers). I LOVE fireworks. Unfortunately, it was pretty rainy the morning of the 4th this year, so the show we'd planned to go see was canceled. So, we went home after church and had our own celebration. You can shoot your own fireworks in Sylvan (which is completely new to me) so I got a few kiddie ones from the local stand, and we had some fun. We had these snake things... and Snap 'n Pops. Anna couldn't throw them hard enough, so she stomped them.

We also had some smoke bombs that were a pretty big hit.

Anna got to "help" light them. Then she'd run away, sometimes missing most of the action. Then she'd turn around and run back through the smoke.

Abby had fun too. She spent alot of time "writing" on the patio with the sidewalk chalk. Funny how loud noises still bother Anna, but don't phase Abby in the slightest.

We did have a few cool ones with sparks and stuff, but the big show came that night when neighbors on both sides of us put on their own little shows. Both of them had to have had hundreds of dollars in fireworks, and they pretty much offset them so one was firing while the other was setting up. Ty and I took our lawn chairs out into the street between the two and enjoyed the show. Not a bad way to spend a holiday.

Of course, the reason we have something to celebrate is because of God's gift of America and it's dream. Here's a quote from George Washington to his army. I think it may be just as relevant today as it was then: "The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend on God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die."

God bless America!