happy 235th birthday, america

I'm so thankful to be living in America, land of the free. Today we attended a celebration at our local park and Internet, we didn't have to pay for anything! An added bonus was running into various cousins and friends!

There were ponies.

And small sleeping goats.

And thirsty lemurs...wearing diapers.

And lots of lemons.

And loved ones having fun! Mostly.

There was a rock wall.

And a mechanical bull.

A firetruck on display.

And a band.

And a cute girl with a flag. In the last photo she held up the flag, looked up at Deran and said, "Daddy, hold it please?" The request to have him hold her flag isn't particularly cute, but she seriously has the most adorable little voice. LOVE her!!

It was a very full afternoon and our plans for the evening changed. Deran and I were both pooped and Avery hadn't had a nap so we decided not to party with the Schilling family tonight. After leaving the park I told Deran that next year I really would like to go watch the fireworks because Avery's never seen any. So he pulled into the library and we sat in the car, then moved to the grassy area beside the building to enjoy the show.

It was kind of nice, hanging out under the stars, away from the crowd and a mile from home. Avery insisted upon sitting in my lap which made picture taking kind of hard, but she was being really cute!

Happy 235th Birthday, America!