Happy 4th of July!

Today we celebrated our country's independence and Tyler's six month birthday (see other new post below). It's hard to believe that he's been in our lives for half of a year! Without him, time passed so slowly. Now, I wish I could make time stand still.

Since we have a four day weekend, Danny and I had a few things we wanted to get done with our extra days. Top priority: clean out the garage. I couldn't even bring myself to take a before picture because it was so terribly embarrassing. It still looks like a whole lot of junk is piled in there, and it is, but at least we can put a vehicle in there now. And, we don't have to jump boxes and follow a special path to get to the trashcans! Now that the middle is cleared out, we can begin going through boxes and trashing junk a little at a time. I can't understand how we get so much stuff that just accumulates and follows us with every move. I'm so tired of the clutter...it's cluttering up my brain! But, I am thrilled that we overcame the garage today! Mission accomplished!

We would not allow ourselves to have any fun until we finished our garage work, so it was 7 p.m. before we knew it (it used to not take so long to do things, but babies aren't too patient with garage cleaning). Once we got ourselves bathed and ready to go, Tyler had fallen asleep, and I think he was planning on being there the rest of the night. Sorry, kiddo. You ain't missin' your first 4th of July...seeing fireworks is a must!

Fortunately, the base hosted a celebration that concluded with a fireworks display. Instead of going all the way to the flight line where the big crowd was gathered, we took our fast food dinner (so American!) to the parking lot of Danny's office and ate on the tailgate while Ty finished his nap. When the fireworks started, there were only two cars in the parking lot, including ours. Well, the late arrivals figured out our brilliant plan and started taking over our area. Not pleasant. However, we really enjoyed the show, and we were excited that Tyler was so interested in the fireworks. He watched intently for about five to ten minutes and then he got sidetracked by my necklace and earrings and the button on Danny's shirt!

It was really special to share this evening with my two favorite guys. I am so thankful for and so proud of Danny's service to our country. He and millions of others do more for the good of our nation on a daily basis than we can even comprehend. I salute all of our service members and especially their families who are often left to hold down forts and lift up spirits while their loved ones are away. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all of the sacrifices made by those who maintain our freedom. Praise the Lord for your service!

We hope you all had a blast today wherever you are!