Celebrating our Freedom

I can't believe that another 4th of July has come and gone. I love the 4th of July and all that it stands for, I am thankful for this holiday and the chance to be reminded of our freedoms. I find myself so often taking for granted all that I have and the sacrifices that have been made by many for our nation. I want those that have served or are currently serving in the military to know that you are in my prayers and I am thankful for you all. I hope to be a little bit more diligent this next year with taking the time to appreciate my freedoms, not just on the 4th of July.

We had so much fun this 4th of July. We started out the day by attending the parade and were a little disappointed with it, it may just be me but I swear it gets worse every year??? Anyways, the kids liked it and thats all that matters. We then headed down to rosspark and went swimming. We were having so much fun and then it started POURING. I am not kidding...I think that we were possibly the only people in the greater Pocatello area that were rained on, I guess that I can at least be thankful that we took the hassle(just for you Aaron) of putting up a canopy and were in our swimming suits during the downpour. We waited over an hour and half for the pool to re-open inside and by then decided that we should just head home. We then were invited to BBQ with our good friends and their family and that was great. Shayne even survived the nickel sized hail while pulling our steaks off the grill real quick. I think that Pocatello has currently endured some of the most crazy storms I have ever seen. Anyways, by the end of the second storm of the day we were wondering if the firework show would even happen. We were glad that it did happen and excited that we were able to see it so close up for the first time. I think that seeing the ground show makes all of the difference. We then lit off some little fireworks and then headed home. We thought that after 45 minutes getting off the hill would be a breeze. Boy were we wrong...I think that it took us 30 minutes to go about the 5 miles to our house. I want to go back up next year even with all of the madness :) We had so much fun and loved being able to celebrate with our awesome friends.

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy 4th too. I challenge you all to try and remember all that you have and not just on the 4th. We definantly are a priviledged nation and I am so thankful for that!!!