Our FOUReign Affairs

After our BBQ we loaded up our children and headed downtown to see fireworks in the Nation's Capitol. It was supposed to storm, there was a tornado watch (huh?), supposed to be hordes of people etc., so we felt like we were really rolling the dice on this excursion. Against all odds we were able to find a good parking place after only a few minutes of searching. As soon as we parked the skies opened up and the storm began. Undeterred we put on a video for the kids (a rare treat), Nathan took a nap and I read a book in the van. 45 min later the storm had passed and we headed down to the National Mall with about a million other people. It was still hot out even though it had rained and it felt exactly like we were in a giant outdoor sauna. I thought of my brother and cousin who are both serving in Asia and deal with this regularly...ugh. Anyway, the second pic is of all of the people, look closely around the base of the Washington Monument, those are all people- can you believe it?! We were right next to the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial and by the end of the evening there were crushes of people all around us too. We had a fun time though; ate pb&j for dinner and hung out together. I love the picture of Aly playing with my phone, she looks like she is texting or something. A real baby of the 21st century lol! As usual it was surreal to be in D.C. for the 4th of July watching fireworks explode above the Washington Memorial and Capitol Building. You can't help but feel patriotic and extremely grateful when surrounded by all of these memorials designed specifically to help us remember our countries past. It was not only a good reminder of the past but also to be grateful for the present. Happy Independence Day!