Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Celebrating the 4th of July

How do you celebrate the 4th? Obviously I'm asking Americans here...no offense to my wonderful foreign blogger friends!

This picture was taken in Alaska at one in the morning when it finally got dark enough to see the colors!




I've had many ways of celebrating, so I thought I'd post a few. Maybe these images will look familiar...maybe not!

As a kid, we would go to Marriot's Great America, a local theme park. By the time the fireworks would go off, we were sunburned, tired, and just wanted to go home. But we still smiled for the photos, of course. We'd ride the Tidal Wave, watch Bugs Bunny dance and buy those stupid fluorescent green glow in the dark necklaces that you had to keep in the freezer or the glow would fade. One time I found a five year old necklace lurking behind some old ice cream tubs. Funny, it didn't glow when I thawed it out. Humph! I should have tried to get my money back.

In 1998, I had just gotten back to Kansas from 9 months in Hungary for the Bosnia Crisis. It sure was good to celebrate the 4th with my family in the 'Good ole U. S. of A.'! Keegan was only 2 years old.


We've also traveled to other cities/states on the 4th...here we are watching a parade in Alaska.

At the time, Keegan was 5 years old and I was 3 mo. pregnant with Evan. I'm pictured below. The streets were so crowded and it was quite cold (Very unlike North Carolina!!!) so we went up to a balcony and watched the parade from a building. It was much better this way. We could see everything and I didn't get the hebee geebees that I usually get with too many people smashing into me. (I hate crowds, don't you?)

Bet you never did this on the 4th of July...look carefully at the photo. In the background is a real moose! They can be spotted all over Alaska. This one was just off the road in Anchorage!




Then of course we have the years where we celebrate at home. Go to local functions. This may be a familiar site. Watching a parade...well, sorta. Evan loved that flag. Fell asleep with a firm grip on it!

He did wake up to eat the ever popular (can't-be-the-4th-without it) WATERMELON!


With sparklers immediately following clean-up.

And other years you light your own fireworks (OR SIT AND WAIT WHILE OTHERS LIGHT THEM!)

You may even try a little 'Sparkler Photo Painting' ala Pablo Picasso. Okay, so it looks more like Jackson Pollock...but you get my drift.

Hope you all have a happy and safe 4th of July!!! Make good memories!

GOD BLESS AMERICA! MY HOME SWEET HOME!

7 comments:

Corry said...

Happy 4th of July to y'all!

We plan on having a bbq today with family and friends. No fireworks by us this year (we had some the years before), the potential for fire is too great, thanks to the heat and the drought. And by the time the great fireworks start tonight, we prolly are too tired to go and watch. I know, getting old, haha. But we are looking forward to the day:-)

God's Grace.

Anonymous said...

I was gonna say that foreigners celebrate it by going to work...

Rulan said...

Neat post. I like the photo of the squiggly light. :)

As you know, I celebrate the 4th with my birthday. lol

Happy 4th July from New Zealand.

Fred said...

Hope you had a great 4th, MC. We had a quiet day, with a bbq at 4 pm. Then, the kids all went their separate ways to watch fireworks.

The pictures were great!

M. C. Pearson said...

Happy 4th to you all and (birthday, Rulan)!

God bless you guys!

Anonymous said...

i love the fireworks. that's what i always see on tv. :)

Trinity13 said...

Very cool pics!