Saturday, July 14, 2012

Independence Day


Kase's patriotism has been put to the test this past week. However,he has been thrilled to show off his pledge of allegiance skills.  He has convinced himself that every time you see an "American State Flag"  you must immediately salute and pledge. With all of the flags out on the 4th he has been busy. On a 20 minute drive home he said the pledge 16 times. Each time putting his little left hand on the wrong side of his chest, and proclaiming loudly his pledge to the flag.

Of course before each meal during the 4th he stood proudly and led the family in the pledge!
There are so many things we love about the 4th!
 A 4th of July Breakfast
Time on the Lake with friends and family 

I can not remember a 4th that I did not celebrate at the lake, although the dynamic of the lake has changed so much over the years. When I was a little girl our entire extended family would join together for a hill picnic. So many families would come together and meet at the picnic tables in the middle of the hill and have a huge meal. My cousins and I would stand waiting for our lake neighbor to bring out her infamous dirt cake. We would choke down our food just to get a huge portion of the dirt cake hoping to get the most gummy worms.No matter how good those gummy worms looked we would not allow each other to eat them. We would stow them away in a metal band-aid box. I can not remember why or what we ever did with them but to us it was an important ritual.
Over the years the families on the hill dwindled and we had to change some traditions. We replaced our picnic with a shrimp boil. 



 I decided this year it was time to introduce my boys to the dirt cake.
 It brought back many memories for Meg, Lane, Kyle, Wendy and I but Kase's reaction was a little disappointing. He liked the cake but clearly instructed me not to put a dirty worm in his cake or on his plate.
Battling the heat this 4th made everything just a little bit stickier. I tried to plan some indoor things that would give us a break from the crazy heat. With Dads help the boys and I made pinatas for them to bust on the 4th. They definitely did not win any cute awards but the boys loved it, and of course they could have cared less if they were cute when they busted the candy out

crafts for the kids while waiting on the shrimp
ending the night with fireworks



Holidays, parties, and family gatherings are some of my favorite memories. I want to help create good memories and traditions for my boys. But most importantly I want them to be thankful for our country, and thankful that God has a plan for their life and has blessed us with family and friends to celebrate with!

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