4th of July

We went on a long trip up to Alabama recently. I'm going to break up the posts or else it would be one REALLY long one. The trip started on July 3rd. I got up at 4:30am and finished loading the car, dog, crate and all. I doubled checked everything, shut down the A/C and got the kids up and into the car at 5am. We drove to Fort Rucker, AL and picked up Ken around 10:30am. We had to waste some time before the 1st Annual Freedom Fest started on base. We got the car semi-unloaded (enough for just one night) at the hotel, then had lunch. We were planning on going to the water park/pool on base but we got there only 10 minutes after it closed for the day. Another time perhaps. We headed to the fields where all the festivities were being held. We walked around, heard some BAD karaoke, put out some small tantrums, and generally lugged 3 kids around without benefit of a stroller, wagon, or any other device to make the walking easier. There were LOTS of helicopters around (not a big surprise for those who know Ft. Rucker is home to almost ALL Army Aviation training). They even had helicopter rides going. The kids (mainly Blake) freaked out about getting close to the 'parked' birds because he thought they were going to take off. We finally got both of them to climb in one for a photo op. We then headed to the main field/stage area where the fireworks were set to go off at SUPPOSEDLY 9pm. Well, James got tired and needed to nurse. Off I went with the 2 boys to the car, while Cathryn & Ken elected to stay behind for a little while and watch the people surrounding our little spot on the grass. Not long after, darkness fell around (8:30pm). And we waited. And waited. Instead of fireworks, Blake & I saw Ken & Cathryn headed our way. Then we waited. And waited some more. The fireworks finally started around 9:25pm. Typical. It was a wonderful show, but I'm not sure it was worth the 45 minute trip/traffic jam it took to get Ken back to his barracks and us back to the hotel. We probably would have been able to see them from the hotel parking lot. Or Ken's barrack parking lot. It was fun though.

Saturday morning, we got up, picked up Ken (once again) and headed to Range, AL. That's the little dot on the map where my parents live. Literally, D-O-T. So much land, so little people. We had a big turn out this year for the 4th. We were sad that 2 siblings and their families couldn't make it. We had ribs, chicken, burgers, hot dogs, sausage, potato salad x2, deviled eggs, beans, frog eye salad, cupcakes, homemade ice cream (from a mix), and probably other things that I can't remember right now. The kids played in the kiddie pool and on the swing set. A good ol' time was had by all. By twilight, only immediate family remained. I guess everyone else had heard about our family exploits with fireworks, especially with Daddy and Bonnie. You know, small fires all over the yard, random sparks flying and singeing people's clothes, that sort of stuff. Thomas, my 9 year old nephew, was part way inducted into the Albritton Firework Brigade by setting off his own fire crackers. The lighting stick was taken away for too much expressive waving around other people. We enjoyed the show and celebration of family and country. Sunday was a sad day as I had to take Ken back to Ft. Rucker. It was definitely a fun filled weekend. :)