July 4th, My Favorite Holiday

Some time in the last three years, July 4th and all of the festivities surrounding it has become one of my favorite holidays.

I don't know if this has to do with having children or moving to a smaller town, but I truly love this holiday in the middle of summer.

There is always delicious goodness on the grill and tasty desserts. There are local parades, and where we live we celebrate with fireworks on two different nights. What is not to love?

This was our first year to take Isaac to watch the fireworks and he did great. He was mesmerized by the lights in the sky and didn't seem to be bothered by the big booms.

Jack on the other hand had some trepidation. He feared the fireworks were going to shoot us. This was my fault because the week before I had shown him a YouTube video of a dog who picked up a Roman Candle and shot it sideways at bystanders. Jack assumed that the fireworks in the sky would somehow shoot at us like the video. After we explained that we were safe, he felt much calmer at our second fireworks outing.

Our holiday experience included spending Sunday evening (July 3rd) at Pops on the River where we heard the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra with a guest appearance by the bluegrass band, the Dismembered Tennesseans.

The event featured patriotic songs and honored veterans. Then at 9:45pm we watched as the city of Chattanooga shot fireworks over the Tennessee River.

Monday morning (July 4th), we made our way to the local Signal Mountain bike parade. I love how events like this bring our community together. After collecting candy and visiting with friends, we went home throw lunch on the grill and visit with Daniel's dad and his wife.

That night we headed out to the local high school to watch the town of Signal Mountain shoot fireworks. While we waited for it to get dark, Jack had a blast playing with preschool friends. 

He was a bit bummed when we left right after the fireworks were over. He really wanted to play in the sand with his buddies, never mind that it was after 10pm! 

We kept our kids up until 11pm two nights in a row. Sure, there was crankiness during the following days, but it was worth it. We visited with friends and family, were reminded about the good things in our country, and restocked our candy bowl until Halloween. It was a good Fourth of July.