This was the only good picture that I could get of the kids watching the fireworks display (put on by the city on the 4th) It was pretty close to our house -- we hopped into the van 15 minutes before the show started and planned to watch from the parking lot of a nearby grocery store -- but everyone else had the same idea. We ended up parking about 1/4 mile away from the store and put up our chairs in grass near the road (most roads have a 10ft. shoulder of grass, then the 'jungle' begins). It actually worked out very well, because when the show was over, we hopped into the car and left -- we didn't get stuck in any traffic. The whole trip took about an hour. It was one of the best fireworks shows for me because we didn't have to spend an hour getting home.

We also spent some time on the 4th explaining to the kids how blessed we are to live here in the U.S. Ben tried to explain to the kids the differences between living here and a many other countries and we talked about the many things we have to be grateful for and the freedoms that we often take for granted. Thank you to all those who ever have or who are serving in the armed services. We live in such a great country!