4th of July

Hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day! We spent our day as we traditionally do, beside the pool. We ate enormous amounts of grilled foods including chicken, hot dogs, steak and shrimp! After it all was over, we were sunburned and exhausted.

There's always a little room for some Sparklers no matter how tired we are. Good thing holidays only come once a year.

Celebrating is hard work.

How did you celebrate this holiday? Were you feasting, watching fire works, parades or listening to political speakers? I pulled out one of our favorite stories to read more about Independence Day. Here's a sampling:

"Independence Day was over. The cannons had been fired, and there was nothing to do but to hitch up the horses and drive home to do the chores.

That night when they were going to the house with the milk, Almonzo asked Father,

'Father, how was it axes and plows that made this country? Didn't we fight England for it?'

'We fought for Independence, son' Father said. 'But all the land our forefathers had was a little strip of the country, here between the mountains and the ocean. All the way from here west was Indian country, and Spanish and French and English country. It was farmers that took all that country and made it America.'

'How?' Almanzo asked.

'Well son, the Spaniards were soldiers, and high-and-mighty gentlemen that only wanted gold. And the French were fur-traders, wanting to make quick money. And England was busy fighting wars. But we were farmers, son; we wanted the land. It was farmers that went over the mountains, and cleared the land, and settled it, and farmed it, and hung on to their farms.'

'This country goes three thousand miles west, now. It goes 'way out beyond Kansas, and beyond the Great American Desert, over mountains bigger than these mountains, and down to the Pacific Ocean. It's the biggest country in the world, and it was farmers who took all that country and made it America, son. Don't ever forget that.' "

From Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Enjoy your weekend!