4th of July 2012

We decided to stay put in Mesquite for the 4th of July this year.  We've been here and there and everywhere the past few months and I was grateful Burke was willing to stay put and celebrate with our own little family. First we drove to Bunkerville for a few patriotic speeches followed by their annual races at the park.  Apparently this is an 80+ year tradition.  It started with the crawlers who went about 10 feet, then on to 1-year-old girls, then 1-year-old boys, and so on up through all the kids and even some adult races to boot.  We tried to get Daphne to compete with the other crying babies her age, but she mostly just stared around in curiosity at all the people surrounding her.  Maybe next year!

The rest of the day was super chill.  We ate and ate and ate (ugh...waaaay too much), took a nap, cleaned the house, watched "The Music Man", ran to the grocery store and the fireworks stand and eventually lit sparklers plus some small fireworks with Daphne before she crashed for the night.

Burke and I parked our lawn chairs on the front driveway and just before the first burst of fireworks could be seen above the housetops Daphne woke up!  I was so glad she could come enjoy the display with us and she was pretty excited as well!

I can't wait until Daphne is old enough to understand why we celebrate Independence Day.  Patriotism runs deep in our family blood, but it wasn't until I began traveling outside of the United States that I understood how truly blessed we are to live in this country.  Of course it is not perfect (far from it in fact), but I know that God has blessed this land and we still have it better than anywhere else in the world.  If you don't think so, go live in India, Mexico, or France like I did and you'll understand in no time just how wonderful it is to be a citizen of the United States of America.  I am proud to be an American!