Happy 232nd Birthday USA!

Don't you just love the 4th of July? Who doesn't love getting in to the patriotic spirit? Pennsylvania is the most patriotic state I've ever been to. I mean, they have festivities going on all week! There were at least 4 different firework shows on different dates that we could attend. And that's just in our immediate surrounding area! If it wasn't for all this rain, I'm sure there would have been more.

Like Jacque, July is important to us too! Every year, Jan makes a prediction. The first 4th of July, he predicted (to himself) that we would be dating by the next celebration. The following year, he predicted we would be engaged, and the year after that, we would be married. Well, it has definitely all come true. Independence day reminds us of how we met, just 2 days before the 4th, and how we spent the holiday together even though we hardly knew eachother.

This year, we went to Ellen's cookout. Jan ran in to several friends he hasn't seen since high school. We ate, played games, and left early to watch fireworks. When we got home, we decided to light the few we had purchased. Yes, fireworks are legal in Pennsylvania! We seemed to get one of the loudest ones... it whistled so loudly as it spit colored flames. I've always been a fan of sparklers, so we got this type that changes colors as it burned. Fun fun. Of course, all week we could hear fireworks going off and see a few over people's backyards.

Tiffany and Ron decided to drive up to watch fireworks with us. With a bag of cherries in hand (a tradition my Dad got me in to) we went up to Nemacolin Resort. Although it wasn't the longest show I've ever seen, at least they had patriotic music playing. That concludes our July 4th.