Happy Birthday, America!

We have a mostly traditional 4th of July in our little town.


Flags fly on every streetlight pole on "Main Street." (And apparently on the kitchen counter. We tried the Barefoot Contessa 4th of July Cake this year. It was good. And since the center of it sank a bit - it looked like it was waving!)


We have a patriotic parade in the morning. People stand, remove their hats, and put their hands on their hearts when the flag goes by. Sydney was all decked out for the occasion.

Our parade comes complete with "American" belly dancers. (Yes, the only one in a modest costume is...AMY!) (Sorry for the terrible photo. I need to spend some time learning the settings on my camera.)


We have a BBQ and go swimming at Grandma D.'s in the afternoon. Tyler shows us how he can float.


The pool is full of friends and family.


Then we go home, take a nap, and watch a movie. (For many years it has been one of our favorite cheesy ones..."Independence Day." It contains many of our family favorite lines, "Must go faster," "Stop side seat driving." "Liar." "Uh, that's not ENTIRELY accurate." and several others. Next year we plan to watch "The Patriot" on the ClearPlayer, or "1776" or something truly patriotic. Or, we might watch "Independence Day.")


Finally, we watch our spectacular small town fireworks, which most years outdo Disneyland. We were worried that this year they might be disappointing, due to the tough economic times. But they were better than ever.

We love our little desert town. And we love living in the United States of America. If you want to read a great "vent" about appreciating America, I suggest this one. Thank you, Miss Amy. We sure love you in our family!

Happy birthday, America!