God Bless America, Land that I Love!

I LOVE the 4th of July! Some of my favorite memories are on the 4th of July! The community we lived in when I was little (Woodbridge-Irvine, CA) had a children's parade and we put streamers in our bike spokes. We did it for years, even when Syd was little and in a stroller. I always loved that parade! When I was little, I was an original member of a group called Kids Are Music in Southern California. The group did shows throughout the year, but the most popular were the Christmas and Patriotic shows. Summer was all about Patriotism! We sang the National Anthem for the Angels game one Fourth of July. In 1986, we traveled to Washington D.C, Philadelphia and New York City for the 4th of July Festivities (I fundraised by selling pizzas door-to-door in my Kids Are Music uniform and earned enough for my sister and me!). We participated in parades in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. and sang on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, and at the Statue of Liberty.

I have watched fireworks on the mall in Washington D.C, Baseball stadiums, driveways, U.S. Capitol Steps, overlooking Donner Lake near Tahoe, grassy lawns, a Church parking lot, and more from sea to shining sea! These memories are probably why my throat gets a big lump in it and my eyes well up if we sing any patriotic song at Church or at a ball game! I love the huge firework shows and the small do-it-yourself kind too. I love the way you can feel the boom of the big ones in the sky deep in your heart! I love the oohhs and aahhs that naturally follow big booms from scores of people surrounding you!
I am proud to be an American!
This years events were great as always! We went to the traditional tri-ward breakfast we have around here; my favorite part is the children's parade in the parking lot (hmmm - wonder why? Refer to first paragraph). You would not believe how hot it was at 9:30 am! Yikes. It was a schorcher that day (108)! Thank goodness for the wet pool! Then we ended the day by lighting up our own fireworks in the parking lot at church. Many others did the same...some were very experienced pyros. We learned a new trick. They brought two ladders, and a board or something to lay on two of the ladder steps - making a platform 5 feet or so in the air, then set their fireworks off of that! It made each firework appear bigger and more fantastic as the sparks had to fall further than if on the ground. It was a neat trick!






In addition to the festivities on the fourth, we had other fun things going on lately too! We've visited the Jelly Belly Factory, Sacramento's new Air Museum that has airplanes inside and out, with a visiting Da Vinci Experience.
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The Da Vinci Experience was cool as most of his inventions were very hands on. The kids got to pull on pulleys, turn chains, gears, wheels, build a bridge and lots more.

Scott's siblings and nephews are all back in their homes in Pennsylvannia, Nevada, Arizona and So. Cal and we are sad. My mom came on June 6 followed by Amy on June 15, Nikki and Erica on June 24, and Chris on July 1. That's a month of fun! Some overlapped, some didn't, but we got to enjoy everyone! We are the luckiest! Now we have just a few weeks before playing in Virginia! Though it's not far away, it seems like forever since we've got some stuff to take care of between now and then. Love you all! Had good times with those of you who have been here and we'll have more good times to come!