God Bless the USA

I had to go into work on Saturday, "The 4th of July." It seemed kind of silly being open but we were open. Occasionally we would get a stray customer from Harris Teeter waiting on their husband to get the car and we saw a couple of our frequent customers. Our numbers weren't as good as we had hoped but the day was nice.

Chad and I had been looking forward to the cook-out my parents were hosting. At four o'clock we hurried over to make sure and not miss any of the festivities. The pool was warm, coming up on 90 degrees but the breeze made it a little cool. There were a lot of people over and plenty of food to go around; and drinks... I probably had a few too many. The girls had it out for the guys, when the water guns didn't work we used them as beating devices. I think we won. My parents yard keeps getting prettier and prettier as the plants grow in. Chad and I were going to go to the concert in downtown Matthews but decided to stay with everyone else at my parents "Oasis." We had food, we had drinks, we had a refreshing pool, music, friends, and we had fireworks. What more did we need? We had it all right in my parents' back yard.

Our dinner was excellent. We had a choice of hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken breasts, chicken wings, home-made coleslaw, potato chips, and all kinds of complements. But the best came later. I am trying my best to eat healthy. Chad and I count our calories everyday. Today was our cheat day. My sister made 2 key-lime pies. But my favorite was the banana ice cream my dad was making. I kept a close eye on it for him. It was a very nice evening, candles lit, bugs away, and laughter around the pool. What more could I ask for on a wonderful holiday weekend. I couldn't prepare myself for what came next.

Chad and I were seated away from the action with my parents. They were discussing "future" vacations. Chad and I have been contemplating going somewhere on the west coast like Oregon wine country or maybe just to Texas to visit my family. We hadn't really decided on anything because it is still so far away. My parents have been discussing their options. My mom usually goes to a "User Group" conference twice a year for work. They went to Orlando just a couple of months ago for one. Well the meeting next year is being held in April in Las Vegas. Chad and I would never plan a vacation by ourselves to Las Vegas. It's far away, crowded and expensive. Plus we've heard that it is more fun when you are with a group. My dad said they never would either but with my mom's company paying for it, how could you argue? They went a year or so ago and my dad was by himself a lot of the time because my mom was in meetings. So he wondered this year if we might go with them. We haven't set anything in stone but it is definitely a possibility. My mom needs to make sure that her company wants her to go first. But if we went we would be staying at the Mandalay Bay hotel. That doesn't mean anything to me but I looked it up just to see and it looks really nice. It is definitely something to think about and something to consider. I guess we will keep it in mind. I wouldn't mind seeing Cirque de Soleil and our hotel has a shark reef aquarium, hmmm? I guess we will have to wait and see. It is a lot of money and still far in the future.

We had a great weekend with our family and friends. We closed the evening with our own fireworks display. This year we didn't buy any we let everyone else have the pleasure. They picked some good ones for sure! I was probably a little to tipsy to be playing with fire but I lit quite a few of them. I liked the strobe light ones, they blinded everybody! The had a few mortars, I was afraid because they were lighting them a little close to the trees. We found a few sparklers that I had bought last year. My mom and Emily twirled them for me so I could get a cool effect with my camera. It is almost more fun setting them off yourself rather than hassling with a crowd to go see them somewhere else. We had a blast. They bought a value pack in South Carolina that had lots of fun little ones that I had never seen before. They did a good job. The best ones we ever set off were at Myrtle Beach a few years ago. I think we spent $300. I don't know if anyone remembers but us. Chad's brother Andy was there helping him light them. That was a fun trip that year. What a great reason to set off fireworks! Our Independence Day, where would we be today if we never declared our Independence, hmm?

I took a few more pictures before I retired for the night. It was really late but it doesn't look that way in the pictures because I has a very very slow shutter speed to let in a lot of light. Pretty Neat!