Last year, we sort of skipped the 4th of July festivities since we were driving back from our road trip out to Kansas City to see my dad and stepmom. In fact, I think the most we did for the holiday was watch The Music Man in our hotel room and order an extra slice of pie to go from the local restaurant we’d stopped at.
Maybe because of the underwhelming nature of Raven’s first Independence Day, we were determined to really make this second one count, with everything from swimming for the first time (okay, trying to dip toes in the water for the first time)…
to grilling (lots and lots of grilling)…
to playing outside (especially Raven’s new favorite, The Hug Game, where you open your arms wide and she runs back and forth in between you for nonstop hugging goodness)…
to a picnic at Eaglewood Gold Course, including fun in the sand pits (a yearly tradition)…
And finally, some good ol’ fashioned parade watching.
Having lived outside the U.S., my appreciation for the freedoms and the unique nature of this country has grown immensely, and I think that this country called America is pretty darn wonderful.
Boy, am I glad to be an American.
