Happy 4th of July!!!!

Hard to believe that another Independence Day is rolling around. I remember when I was looking forward to July 4, 1976, so that I could celebrate our nation's 200th year. The thing that I remember most about that day is watching the tall ships sail into the New York Harbor.

Independence Day also has another special meaning for me because it is also my half-birthday. When I was a kid I was always so excited about turning 8 1/2 or 10 1/2, etc. etc. My parents always did something special for me that day as well.

My favorite childhood memories of July 4th were going down to the Washington Monument and watching all of the fireworks.

I was always excited to see what pictures the fireworks would show. I used to love seeing the American Flag light up the sky. I still don't know how they manage to make pictures out of the explosions, but it was really cool! The pictures always occurred near the end of the fireworks display, which always made me sad realizing that the gorgeous display was almost over, but still, the pictures were soooo neat!

That is the one thing that I always think about whenever I see fireworks anywhere else. At the end, I always think, "But where are the pictures?" (sigh)

One of my favorite adult 4th of July memories occurred when I went with Valerie & Hans down to Fort Lee, VA and watched the fireworks there. That was just so interesting to see all of the soldiers milling about and hearing the cannons boom. And the food was pretty good too!

Another favorite memory was of us all going to Maymont Park with my friend Kim and her boyfriend, Rob. At the time, Rob worked at Maymont, so he was able to get us into the part that was set aside for just employees and family/friends. I felt so important! :) And Maymont itself is absolutely gorgeous!

And then there was the July 4th party that Tom and I hosted our first year of living in Powhatan, VA. The house where we were living had a pool and the scenery around it was just gorgeous! So anyway, we invited some friends over for a cookout and swim and then once it turned dark, we set off our own fireworks. They might not have been as fancy as the professional ones, but still, it was really fun!

Other favorite 4th of July memories were when we were in Oklahoma visiting my mother's family. We would gather at my Uncle Ernest's farm (and since his last name was McDonald, I always thought that it was neat going to Old McDonald's farm) . And what a feast we would have! My uncle had beef cattle and he would always have fresh steak and hamburgers cooking on the grill. All of the aunts would bring some delicious home-made dish and then for dessert, Uncle Ernest would always have watermelon picked fresh from the vine. He would always take the nieces and nephews for a drive around his farm (he had over 500 acres, so it was quite a nice drive). We would all pile in the back of his pick-up truck and laugh every time he went over a bump.

For this year, my 4th of July memory occurred last night. Valerie, Hans and I went to King's Dominion to watch the fireworks there. We arrived around 8 o'clock PM and walked down to one of the Pizza restaurants and had a nice dinner. I about choked when I saw what I had been charged for two bottles of water ($7.58). If my math is right, that is $3.79 per bottle! These are bottles that can be bought for about a $1.25 at regular stores. Well, Valerie and Hans pointed out to me that we had actually come away with THREE bottles of water, not two. However the receipt plainly showed that we had just been charged for two. Normally I would have gone to rectify the mistake, but not this time. I told them that the place had already committed highway robbery by charging me $7.58 for just two bottles, I wasn't about to let them do it to me again!

Anyway, at 10 PM we were sitting outside of the gates of King's Dominon, and the fireworks display began. It was pretty and since I always enjoy fireworks displays, I enjoyed this one too.

Sitting near us was a young family with small children sitting in their laps. I thought to myself that 20 years ago, Valerie had also been sitting in my lap, and look at her now! Now she is all grown up, married, and looking sooo pretty! Those 20 years just go by so fast!!!!

I hope that our nation enjoys many more centuries of celebrating July 4th!