Proud to be an American

Some of our favorite things about Independence Day....

The Parade - Nothing is better than a small town parade. Especially when all the family gets together to watch it. I remember watching the parade with my aunts and uncles and cousins when I was really young. Everything is still the same after all these years except for the fact that all my cousins are married and have kids so now there is quite the crowd sitting outside for the parade. I love it!!

The Candy - Why is it that taffy thrown at the parade tastes so much better than if you just bought a bag of it at the store? We did have to coax Claire out to the street to get candy. She was just as happy as could be just sitting on Grandma Holly's lap eating an otter pop.

Fireworks - This year we decided to stay at Uncle Butch's house for the fireworks instead of heading to the park like we normally do. I think we might do it again just so we don't have to deal with the big crowds. It took quite awhile but Claire finally decided that she likes sparklers.

5k race - Several cousins spent the night in our backyard so that they could run the race with Luke the next morning. Luke took 13th overall and got 3rd for his age group. Cameron took 3rd for his age group and Spencer took 1st for his age group. Maybe next I will run it too. (And yes, I do say that every year.)
Claire stayed busy during the 5k by pushing her stroller around and filling it with pinecones, playing with roly poly bugs, and looking for ants.

Red, White, and Blue - I love seeing all the American Flags everywhere. I love seeing the little kids in their patriotic clothes. It seems like sometimes we forget how fortunate we are that we live in such a great country. We truly are blessed!!