Independence Day

I really love the 4th of July.  Both of my grandfathers are veterans of WWII and I have always found their love of country inspiring.  It's also a nostalgic holiday for me because it's the anniversary of our first kiss.  Yeah, I'm sappy like that. We had only known each other for 12 days, but Ryan already knew at that point he wanted to marry me and asked if he could meet my family.  So I took him home for the 4th to celebrate with my family. We went to the parade, had a BBQ, and watched the fireworks.  It was a very romantic first kiss, my family loved Ryan, and we managed not to scare him off despite some embarrassing family videos that were shown :) Good memories!  Thanks for reminiscing with me. 

This year, we had a hot dog picnic in the park, followed by swimming at the pool.  Then we headed out to watch the fireworks.  There is a favorite spot near our church where a country club puts off fireworks so we had some fun watching them with friends from church. 

At first Ava was SUPER excited to see the fireworks.  This was her first time ever going to see fireworks.

Some fun waiting for them to start:

Oh dear!  They are LOUD!

Waaay to loud.  This is where she started crying and begging to go home.  She is very sensitive to loud noises and did not like the fireworks at all.

So Ryan took Ava for a walk, further away from the fireworks and she spent the whole time buried in his shoulder and covering her ears.  She is a pretty good sport though, and after they were over and we were walking back to the car, she tried to put on a brave face and said, "That was kinda fun."

Maybe they'll be more of a hit next year.  Or we'll find a spot further away where they aren't so loud :)

God Bless America!!!