Fourth of July

When you live in a military town, you have great Fourth of July celebrations. This year was no exception. On the third, we attended a small parade in the next town.  We usually do not get to go to that parade because it is usually on the Fourth and our town has a huge parade.  The boys had a great time at the parade, especially when participants threw candy.  Later in the evening, we attended the annual block party.  We stayed only about an hour.  It was hot and loud there.  The boys were unhappy that we did not stay long because there was not much fun.

On the Fourth, we went to church. Our pastor decided to do a colonial liturgy to celebrate the holiday.  One of the church members did an excellent rendition of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA during the service.  During the day’s heat, we attended our town’s huge parade.  My hubby had it easy because he sat in the shade while I stayed on the front lines to ensure the boys did not get hurt while running after the candy.  We had to laugh because they did not want only candy.  They also wanted any piece of paper given by the parade participants.  The Wee One growled and got upset because the Stanley Steamer guys did not give him a door hanger.  The person just laughed and handed him one.  When the hour-and-a-half parade ended, I was soaked from head to toe with sweat, but seeing the joy on my boys’ faces was worth seeing.

We rested at home for a while and then headed out again. The next stop was a relative’s house for a cookout.  Since it was so hot, she grilled the food, and then we ate in the house.  The boys had fun playing with another child.  They did not want to stop playing when it was time to eat.

We stayed there for about 2 hours and then headed home for a few minutes before heading out one last time. This time was to see the fireworks. When we went past the high school close to where the fireworks were going to be launched, we noticed a steady stream of cars heading there. We decided to get our rears over there.  So my sister, the boys, and I headed home to pick up hubby and then over there.  We paid the dollar to park in the nonpremium parking lot and then just waited the hour for the fireworks.  The boys wanted to be read to during that hour, so that made the time go by quickly.  The fireworks were beautiful.  After they were finished, we got out of the parking lot rather easily. Pictures will be posted in a different post.