The Rockets Red Glare...

...the Bombs Bursting in Air

With a quick, up-&-back trip for the Thelin Family Reunion in Portland, we took a more casual approach to our 4th of July celebrations. Well, sort of.

Festivities started with our ward's annual Independence Day breakfast. I brought my camera, but with the combination of a busy boy, large crowds and big public park, I never had a chance to pull it out. Dave and his friends planned a 50-mile bike ride immediately following the activity, so he rode his bike to the breakfast. Because he was going green, I decided to run up to the breakfast, accompanied by my stroller-riding buddy, Benjamin. Thanks to the steep grade of Seattle Hill, my run was interspersed with some walking too.

Breakfast, which included a dutch-oven egg dish, pancakes and juice, was followed by a flag ceremony, a few talks and a game of matching up military service pictures with the current day veterans.

After breakfast, Dave took off and Benjamin & I did a few rounds on the swings, teeter-totter and sandbox before getting back on the road. A wiped-out Benjamin went down for a nap, but awakened quickly for a dip in the world's smallest wading pool.

Later in the afternoon, we packed up and headed for a Phantom Lake BBQ, an annual July 4th tradition for the Goodwin clan. We invited the Watsons, who are honorary family members, to partake in the lakeside fun. Splashing in the water whetted our appetites for chicken, burgers, various salads, fruit and Texas Sheet Cake. Again, few pictures taken of the BBQ because we have a kid who is bent on constantly hurling himself or anything else into the water. I don't know that I'd call it the highlight of the BBQ, but after hearing a huge crashing sound we all raced up to the main road to find a speeding BMW flipped on its side, engulfed in flames. Fortunately, the teenage driver was able to crawl out of the vehicle but I'm sure his Happy 4th of July was not going to be quite so happy. After a fire truck and four patrol cars zoomed to the scene and quickly put out the fire, we went back to the lake, cleaned up and headed for home.

Benjamin was absolutely wiped out, so after a quick bath - and a POO episode in the tub - he was bound for dreamland. I spent the next hour cleaning the tub and sanitizing toys while Dave read books and sang songs with Benjamin. Night was beginning to fall, so we retired to the back porch armed with chairs, blankets, sweatshirts, snacks and my camera. I wanted to test out the camera settings, so I tinkered with it quite a bit. I don't know that any of the pictures turned out as I would have liked, but it was fun to play around with it.

The fireworks displays, both in our various neighborhoods, as well as across the horizon, were a site to see. They paled in comparison to the de-militarized zone of South Everett, but they were beautiful nonetheless - and at one point, I found myself humming the Star Bangled Banner, thinking of Francis Scott Key & the Battle of Baltimore. If you ever find yourself in Baltimore, go check out Fort McHenry; it's an amazing site of American history.

I'm so grateful for the freedom we enjoy each day and for the sacrifices that made our freedom possible. It's so easy to forget, but fortunately, we have holidays set aside to jog our memories and give thanks. And what better way to give thanks than to blow stuff up!