Freedom and Firetrucks

First of all, happy Fourth of July to all you crazy kids out there. I have always been a fan...loving the parades, cookouts, fireworks, the pride of living in the country we do, the pride in our military and 1812 Overture. I never tire of that, one of my go to records to listen to in school while doing homework, but I digress. The feelings for the Fourth are not shared by all here at the ranch. My sweet husband lost his beloved grandmother 11 years ago today, when I was very pregnant. We were so anxious for her to meet our sweet baby, but it was not to be. The woman who had so much to do with molding the man I love so dearly was gone and, though it was not a surprise, it was so terribly sad. So, even all these years later, the pain burns just as badly as it did then. G is also not an excited participant during the Fourth. She has never been a superfan of loud noises, including thunder storms and fireworks. We have to get creative to keep her off a xanax drip. S and F enjoy the day just fine and are happy to do whatever comes up on the schedule.

Today we were fortunate to come across some freebies and decided to take advantage. We got free Starbucks, even though my cup was so strong I think I had heart palpitations. It was free, so I dealt with it. The hub, ever in search of a deal on a cheeseburger, came across a deal Hardee's had for the day. If you dressed up like Spiderman, you got a free bacon cheeseburger. Here is what he did:



The man loves his burgers. G had on a shirt of the boy's 4 sizes too small, S had on one two sizes too small and B had a pair of the boy's swim trunks stuffed in his belt. I have a Spiderman shirt for pj's, but I chose to stay home and mow the lawn and quickly dehydrate. The clan came back from free burger poaching victorious and salivating.

B left to go help set up for a cookout at our dear friends' house, so the rest of us messed about, watched some Turtleman and of course Duck Dynasty. We then headed to the cookout, two Key Lime Pies in the cooler and hungry tummies all around. There were sprinklers and misters all around to help cut the heat, but it sure tried to win. The kids were all soaked and enjoyed getting at least one of the pastors very wet and the others good and damp. They didn't protest too much. A sweet lady from our church did succumb to the heat. Bless her heart, she ended up being the center of attention she never wanted to have and ended up leaving with some handsome first responders in an ambulance. They were eyeing our beloved investigative reporter, Don Dare, who was there at the party. Starstruck and doctoring all at the same time. We are so very concerned and are all praying she feels better very soon!

We returned home hot and tired, hearts warmed not only by the heat but from the friendship shared with so many. The kids bathed and the boy remarked that he was tired...more than once. I used that time to do some prep for the in-laws' arrival tomorrow during bath time. After ripping a nice chunk off of my toenail off in an unfortunate and bloody vacuuming accident, I deemed it time for the kids to retire for the evening. G steeled herself for a stormy night of revelry and redneck neighbor fireworks displays ahead:



Poor girl. Hopefully the Makita drill ear protection will do the trick.

We are watching James Bond as the children slumber. I think I gained major wife points by knowing every word to "The Man With The Golden Gun" theme song. Hey, what can I say? I'm just cool like that. Happy Independence Day!
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