Happy Fourth!

I sat here thinking tonight-- This is Luke and my 9th July 4th since we’ve been married (which, in and of itself, is one of those “holy  moly” moments…)  I realized that, of all the holidays, the Fourth of July is the only one that we don’t have a “set” tradition- so we’ve had some pretty awesome adventures!

The first one (2002), we had been married a week and a half.  We were moving all our “stuff” from Colorado to San Diego, where Luke was stationed.  Lucky for us, I have cousins who live in Las Vegas, which is a great place to stop in the middle.  We played with fireworks in their front yard that year, and had a lot of fun.

In 2003, Luke had just come home from deployment in the Middle East.  My brother was stationed at the time at Camp David, and Luke and I, my parents, and grand parents got to go out to visit.  So we spent the Fourth of July holiday in our nations capital, Luke and Justin got to visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in their uniforms, and we got to experience one of the most patriotic holidays in one of the most patriotic places.  So awesome!

2004- Not. a. clue. 

2005, 6, and 7 we spent out at the inlaws’ with Luke’s whole side of the family.  The property across the street has horses, and they have often had colts around the same time, so we always went over to see the babies.  And then, inevitably, fireworks were also involved.

In 2008, some friends of ours took us up to a family cabin along the Continental Divide.  No electricity, no running water…  All somewhere around 11,000 ft.  And that year?  We had many conversations about NOT being pregnant yet…

The next year, Piper had JUST broken out of the NICU, and it was her first official holiday.  How fun is THAT???

Last year, we didn’t do a whole lot as we had a one-year-old, I was too scared to attempt to see fireworks, and Piper was still “sick” with what we thought was some kind of respiratory “thing” (little did we know…), so we laid low.  But really- what better way to celebrate than with your little munchkin?

This year, I had grand hopes of going up to a hill and watching all the city shows at once.  However, Piper was in bed by FIVE O’CLOCK, soooo here we are, at home, listening to all the fireworks around.  And trying to keep my dogs from having panic attacks and/or coronaries. 

But, we did get to have fun today- Piper even had a swimsuit for the day!

(How much more “American” can you get?  Red, White, and Blue, pigtails, and a big chocolate lab.  Life. is. good.)

And Addy?  She’s not sure what all the fuss is about.  At all.  This face sums up the level of her enthusiasm…

Happy Independence Day!