Independence Day 2021

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On the Wednesday before the 4th, we were invited to attend a church potluck and fireworks display on our mountain. I’m pretty sure this night made the boy’s top ten list for the year, probably top three. They got to shoot off fireworks for the first time and then watch a really fantastic fireworks display up close and personal. Not to mention all the delicious food, as well as getting to play hide and seek and tag and basketball. It was a perfect summer evening.

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I am so thankful for this small town we are a part of. The friends, the kind people we continue to meet, the traditions, it all makes me so grateful.

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On the day of the 4th, we had a fun afternoon tubing down the lower Ocoee with some of our friends. It was a really relaxed float trip, but still lots of fun. I have to take a moment to say that I am so thankful to live in a country that, though imperfect, continues to strive toward its original goal of freedom for everyone. I am grateful for the freedom to worship how we choose and the freedom to spend an afternoon with our friends when co^id still has much of the world locked down. A place where everyone is free to have opinions and to openly disagree with one another. It’s by no means a perfect place, but a place that continues to try to be better on behalf of all.

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After our tubing excursion, we came home and crashed for a bit before meeting up with friends for a neighborhood firework display. Both Chattanooga and our little suburb cancelled official fireworks shows again this year, but even so we still had a great time celebrating with our friends. 

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Our 4th of July parade that our small town puts on was back this year. It’s small and just our community, but we always enjoy it. Fire engines, kids on bikes, local clubs and churches. It’s a sweet way to celebrate the 4th (on the 5th 🤪). Randomly during the parade, Daniel turned around because he thought he recognized a voice behind him. It turned out to be one of his TAs from Tennessee Tech from 19 years ago! They both recognized each other and spent part of the parade catching up. They both work for TVA and had a lot of work things in common. Such a small world!

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.

July Traditions, 2015

Traditions are important to me, and over the years our family has developed some pretty good ones for various holidays. However, it hasn't been until the last couple of years that I have felt like we have settled into a good 4th of July tradition.

When we were first married, I really thought our 4th of July tradition would be an annual backpacking trip. But we have only been able to manage that a few times, and with little ones it will probably be some time before that is our reality again.

Moving to Signal Mountain has provided some new small-town traditions that I have fallen in love with. These traditions feel quintessentially American. On the morning of July 4th we start things of by attending the annual Signal Mountain Bike Parade. Local firetrucks and police cars kick things off with their sirens. They are followed by boy scout and girl scout troops, baseball teams, animal shelters and various other local organizations. Anyone can join in. 

Lots of families participate with their children riding decorated bikes, scooters or Powerwheels. As a bonus, we always come home with a bag full of candy. Our kids are small enough that we enjoy watching the festivities, but maybe next year we will join in on the fun of biking in the parade. Rain or shine, it is a fun family event.

Later that evening we joined friends for a cookout. We feel incredibly blessed to be able to share these moments with friends. Our town's annual fireworks show was cancelled this year due to rain, but we were still able to let the kids have fun with sparklers. 

While the adults visited late into the evening, the kids played and we all listened to the booming sounds of fireworks being shot off by neighbors. It was probably just as well for Isaac that we weren't outside.

Finally, our church held their annual bike parade and ice cream social in the back parking lot. Jack pedaled his little heart out for over an hour. He was one of the very last to still be riding his bike... After the loud speakers had been taken down, after most of the other families had packed up and left, he was still out there making the rounds. 

At the start, the experience makes me nervous – big kids and little kids are all riding in circles together. The chaos of it all makes my heart jump into my throat as careening children on bikes somehow avoid crashing into each other. Thankfully, for the most part, the kids do a great job. It fills me with pride to see my little one out there, so full of confidance. 

All of these events seem to be becoming our Independence Day traditions. Maybe in the future we will take our boys backpacking to celebrate the birth of our country, maybe we will stick with the fireworks, cookouts and bike parades. Either way, I am proud to be an American and live in the little community where we live.

Independence Day Weekend: My Brother Visits

To continue with our 4th of July weekend fun, we were excited that my brother (Jack's Uncle Mark) decided to come spend part of the weekend with us. Jack is very social and loves when anyone comes to visit, especially family.

Mark arrived Saturday morning and after lunch and some visiting we decided to head over to Chickamauga Lake in Hixson to take a dip in the lake. 

The water was nice and cool but the beach area is rocky and there were lots of people.

I am still in the process of trying to get Jack more comfortable in the water, but he absolutely refused to wear the puddle jumper we recently bought him (that he picked out). 

One of these days we will get him in the water!

After swimming, I dropped Mark and Jack at Chick-fil-a to get ice cream while I picked up groceries for dinner.

We decided to grill a surf-and-turf spread. The steak, shrimp and sea scallops were all really delicious. 

To go along with our meat, we made homemade sweet potato fries and pico with chips. 

I love having my brother visit, because after we made our delicious spread he jumped in and did almost all of the clean up!

Mark was really sweet and offered to read books to Jack at bedtime. He did a great first-time reading of the Dr. Seuss book "Fox in Sox." I kept waiting for him to mess up and he never did.

Sunday afternoon while Jack napped, Mark and I went to grab coffee at one of the newest cafes on Signal Mountain, The Olive Bean Cafe – a cafe combined with a grocery store that sells local food. I am looking forward to trying out the various grains from their bulk bins as well as picking up some farm fresh eggs.

It was nice to sit on the front porch of the cafe and sip a latte. I am so glad there is a place to get good coffee (in an actual mug) on Signal Mountain now. I'm looking forward to taking Daniel to the Olive Bean for a coffee date.