America!

We spent our Fourth of July in the same way we have for the past several years, hanging out with our neighbors and their family, enjoying a patriotic potluck and watching fireworks from the golf course.

Turns out, I have two girls who share a strong dislike for fireworks. Every year Violet bravely makes an attempt to watch them, and every year the first few pops have her scrambling for the safety of the house. Not even the back porch is far enough from the noise; she has to be behind closed doors, preferably with her entire family gathered with her.

Walking up to the golf course, I tried to explain to Annie what was about to occur. "Fireworks!" I said. "Yash!" she replied. "I will be loud," I said. "Yash!" she replied. "Big boom," I said. "Boom!" she replied. She watched the first burst with wide eyes. But before the second pop, she turned to me and firmly stated, "Too loud! Too loud! Back inside!" So back inside we went, to Violet's relief. We did venture back outside one more time, when the crew lit the lanterns and sent them floating up into the sky. It was just like the scene from Tangled; they are so pretty! Probably illegal, but beautiful.

All in all, it was a very happy Independence Day, and I hope yours was too!