4th of July

We were up late on the 3rd of July so we skipped the parades. Marcos and Dylan went to the park to play tennis and Preston and I slept in. What a treat! We tried to catch up on my neglected chores a bit and then got ready for another night of celebrating. We met my family at a park by my mom's house that evening. They serve Greek souvlaki and my mom treated us all to dinner. The kids played ball, at the playground and around our blankets and chairs. It took a little coordinating to keep track of that many kids, but it was well worth it. They had a blast playing together. The DJ was blaring the music and we were all gettin' down a little. You should've seen Dylan - I'm afraid he takes after me. There isn't much dance talent there, but I have no power to stop myself from gettin' my groove on when the rhythm hits me. :) It was so much fun! As it started to get dark, a plane dropped a few local sky divers off who landed in front of us. It was AWESOME! By that point, we strapped Preston in his stroller. He tends to be a bit of an escape artist these days and we'd had enough of chasing him around the park. We all settled down with our treats to watch the fireworks together. What a great night! Here are a couple collages I made of our day. For those who want to see more pictures, you can find them here.

Aside from the fun celebration part, I just want to say how grateful I am to be an American. I think our freedom is something that we tend to take for granted. Most people are apathetic when it comes to the political process. Although often tedious and frustrating, I feel it my civic duty and am involved as often as possible. After all, if I'm not representing my views, then who is? I've always been pretty patriotic. I tear up every time I hear or sing the national anthem and especially when I see a veteran saluting the flag. I know our Constitution was Divinely inspired and am grateful for brave men (and women) who fought for what they knew to be right. God bless America!