HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!!

This was a year of serious consideration at our house. We seriously contemplated HOW COOL FIREWORKS ARE!!

We began with a HUGE feast (quite naturally!) Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Chicken Nuggets (grilled), Suzanne dips - bell pepper mixed in cream cheeze, salsa mixed with sour cream, my favorite: sun-dried tomato! and Green Goddess! To dip (you dip, I dip, we dip!) we had Wheat Thins, Carrots, Cucumbers and Radishes. Then came the most beautiful SALAD imagineable! There were some lettuce leaves if I dug deep enough, but I loaded a pile of bell peppers, olives, tomatoes, corn, and zucchini on my plate first! Did I say "dip", yet?! 'Cause I forgot we had Cilantro Lime, too, which is delicious as a Dressing!!!! (No, I'm not trying to sell something, I'm describing our FEAST!!) That's all too healthy-sounding, you say?! How 'bout some Corn on the Cob slathered in butter?! Followed by baked red Potatoes?! Believe me, I didn't lose any weight on the 4th!!

But eating is only a Time-Filler on the 4th, so we got down to BUSINESS as soon as we could pretend it was nearly dark!!

It was quickly clear (say that 10 times fast!) that Trinity didn't like the show... maybe 'cause it was already past her bed time... maybe 'cause fireworks are SO loud! maybe it was just 'cause Mom cared more about getting her picture than getting her to bed! Sorry, Trin! You'll like next year better! And we'll keep your ears covered just like big bro, Cam.

Everyone had a job to do... Nana took care of Camten. Camten took care of his ears. Papa Jim took care of which ones were "illegal" and what we'd have to do about that (not ours! our neighbor's!!). Dad took care of the Fireworks show. Shad took care of Dad, and the all-important "what comes next". Aidan took care of all the blue glow-sticks. And Mom took care of passing out some delicious Raspberry Mousse with fresh raspberries on top! We had visitors, too! Daryl and Becca and their cool friend all took care of Hannah! It took all 3 to keep up with that 1 1/2 years old ball of energy! Excuse me, "adorably CUTE" ball of energy!

I mentioned the cool glow-sticks... in all my pictures, I only got Aidan as a swirl of light - he's FAST!

Our Grand Finale came late this year. We got to see all our neighbor's cool fireworks in the sky all around us. It's nice being outside of town a little - who knows how many more years there'll be so many fireworks from Washington?!

I don't know how many of us Patriots were considering Iraq and the war and Afghanistan and how many people we actually know are in danger this 4th. It brings home the seriousness of our Freedom, I guess, the cost and all the fresh wonderings if "it" is worth it. Death is never something to celebrate, as Shad clarified to me this year. I didn't have any overwhelming feelings of gratefulness, as I have had in the past. This year had a real somber undertone to it. I think we need to be responsible with the Freedom we have, and I am not certain that we always know how to do that - as a people, a country. But it's easy to point a finger at someone else. I know I will teach my children to Love and Tolerate, to respect our Country, our Flag and our Leaders. This year, though, the Fireworks were the best part... and that dinner!