Happy 4th of July!!!

I really am not sure there is a better way to appreciate our country than the way it has come to be celebrated. We did the fireworks thing last night. We live near a larger city on a river and every 4th they shoot the fireworks off on the river. From what we've heard, it is crazy to get home from. So for about 3 years, we tried to find good fireworks that required no traffic jams at 10:30 pm. Last year we found them at a small town not to far from here at the county fairgrounds. It was great last year and it was great this year. I'm from a small town so maybe I'm a little biased, but I don't think there is any better way to celebrate the fourth of July than to experience the following:

• watching the fireflies come out over a field of corn (there must have been thousands)
• smelling the smells of farm life
• counting how many pick-up trucks you see with people riding in lawn chairs in the bed
• hearing John ask "Are those the real fireworks?" while the nearby people shot off bottle rockets
• knowing that you are going to have to wash the van because of all the dust from the gravel roads
• the warm heavy air that fills the midwest in the middle of the summer
• enjoying the fireworks because there is something in it for everyone--the gold ones (that look like rain according to Ashley) and the ones that make the big booms (Daddy's favorite)

Happy Birthday America! Truly the greatest country in this world!