National Day of Treason

This was the first year since Garrett died that we stayed home for the 4th of July.  We normally go to Idaho but that week 2014, Paul was with us and we stayed home.  I remember that day with such clarity.  I remember the picture I took of Garrett passed out on the couch in his little blue striped bear PJs after a long day.  July is bad enough, but getting to escape to Idaho for a few days always makes it a little better.  However, this year Ethan was invited to be in the Centerville parade with his theatre company, so we stayed here.  Luckily, good friends made it bearable and we got through the otherwise difficult "first" pretty unscathed.

Cody was kind enough to wake up early and get Ethan to the parade by 7:00, then scout out a place for us to sit for the parade.  When the kids and I got there, he had donuts and juice waiting for us.  Such a good guy of mine.  It was great watching Ethan in his element, walking, singing, and handing out fliers and candy to parade goers.  Never is he so at home than he is with his theatre company, and they sang songs from The Greatest Showman and Beauty and the Beast, for which they are advertising and trying to solicit new theatre clientele.  

Angus surely represented the red, white, and blue!

These guys were so much fun to watch and listen to.  Parade music is the best!

Loved this float.

After taking an hour to locate Ethan through the end-of-parade mob, we headed out to waste a ton of money on fireworks.  As much as I love fireworks, something in me gets all queasy when I think of burning so much money like that!

In the evening, we went a few streets over and crashed Rothbury Court's fireworks festivities.  It was great to be out with friends, and we met a lot of new neighbors.  In fact, Cody ended up walking home with Angus and the kids and I didn't mean to stay so long, but we didn't get home until 1:30 in the morning!  Too much fun playing and visiting with friends.

Yeah, my blue shirt from earlier in the day got dirty, so upon deciding on what else to wear, I landed on this Union Jack shirt.  Why would I wear such a thing to pay homage to our nation's birth?  Well the way I see it, America gets all the credit for winning the war.  However, England gets no credit for LOSING the war.  Sure it was great that we won, but we couldn't have won had England not lost.  Right?  

Cody and Mike have a very disturbing bromance that dates me years.

For all our problems, I absolutely love this country and I truly am grateful to have been born under the freedoms and liberties that the flag provides.  I can't listen to the National Anthem or America the Beautiful or The Battle Hymn of the Republic without getting a lump in my throat, and the debt I owe to the men and women who gave me these rights can't ever be paid.  This country is not perfect, but we try.  Our government tries.  Our military tries, and the citizens try every day to make it the place that our forefathers envisioned.  We stumble and fall, but we keep getting back up.  I love this land.  I love the people.  I'm proud to be an American.