Happy 4th....on the 8th!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. This was our first one to do all the fanfare w/ the kids. Not that we haven't tried in years past. But, due to weather, family crap and other road blocks, this is the first time the boys have seen fireworks. We spent Friday night in a small town about 3 miles up the road. Very small town. It was a cute event. We even got front row seats for the "display". However, when planning the place where the fire dept. would ignite the show, someone forgot to do the "how high are the trees and how high do these bottle rockets go" math. We saw about 1 in 4 that were shot off. Good use of taxpayer dollars, I'd say.
Saturday, we had a BBQ, which means Nick got up at 3am and spent the next 15 hours watching the smoker better than a newborn. We had friends over and then headed to another fireworks display. It was cute too, but come on! Where are the giant ones that I remember as a kid? You know, the ones that would rattle the car windows? I know they are out there and next year, that will be my quest.
There is always something so comforting about the 4th. Is it the patriotism brought out in everyone, even the Chinese store owner or the Pakistani pizza guy? Is it that it's the official, "summer is really here" holiday? I'm not sure. But there is just something about seeing all the red, white and blue everywhere that makes me smile. It's nice that once a year, the country realizes that it's not about where you are from, it's that you are here and it's our job, all of us, to protect it.