The Best of the 4th

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays! 



This year did not disappoint! The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and we had so much fun with our family and friends!

Grant's family always hosts a 4th of July picnic.  I've been attending with Grant since 1999.  16 years and 4 kids later and we're still doing the same thing!  We look forward to the picnic every year!

This year, Grant headed over early so he could help set up.  The kids and I arrived just before everyone else. Liam was so excited to explore all the new toys and his surroundings. He was too little last year to enjoy playing outside at the picnic!




All of our friends showed up soon after we did, and the kids ran off to play for a bit before dinner.  As I mentioned, the food was REALLY good!






The 4th of July town parade is in the afternoon. We had to eat quickly, then walk down to the end of the street to watch the parade! The kids were ready to go!





The parade was great this year!  Liam was mesmerized by all the firetrucks.  He wouldn't smile, but he kept waving his flag! The parade was almost an hour long and the kids got so much candy!









After the parade ended, we headed back to the house, and we were finally able to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends!










As usual, we waited too long to take a family picture, but hey...we tried!








The evening flew by so quickly!  Dusk arrived, and we all got into our cars and drove up to the cemetery to watch the fireworks.  I know the cemetery seems like a strange location, but trust me, there's a good reason!

Grant's dad was the town mayor.  He LOVED his job, and as soon as he was elected, he worked so hard to bring fireworks back to the town.  He succeeded! The very first year, many of us drove up to the cemetery, which sits on a hill, to watch the fireworks.  We parked along the edge, sat in the field that surrounded the cemetery, and watched with pride at what Dick had accomplished.  Every year after, we watched the fireworks from the same location.

Dick loved fireworks every bit as much as he loved being mayor.  He passed away a few years ago, and was buried in the town cemetery.  At his funeral, a friend of his put together a huge fireworks display in his honor.

Now the entire family watches the 4th of July fireworks display next to his grave. And every single year our group gets larger. Even my dad, who hates fireworks because it reminds him of the war, joined us this year! More family, more friends, and more babies.  Dick always has quite a crowd at his favorite holiday event of the year!













Right after the finale, 3 giant lanterns lifted up into the sky, remained suspended in the air for a few seconds, then began to soar up into the sky until they were swallowed up by the clouds.  It was BEAUTIFUL!



We had the best day with our family and friends! Another fantastic 4th of July is in the books.  Until next year...



Happy Birthday, America!!!