Independence Day

On the Fourth of July, most of our friends from Iowa were out of town visiting their families (note to self for next year!), so we celebrated as a family of four. We started out with one of our walks on the trail and the girls were thrilled to show Ryan our routine. 

Later that night, we donned our red, white and blue and ventured out to the River Bandits game, our local baseball team. We didn't pay attention to the game at all, but rather marveled at the beautiful sunset and how crazy it was that we were sitting in the middle of a flood. 

Seriously. 

It rained and rained and rained a few days before the fourth and the baseball stadium is right on the Mississippi River. The stadium has metal walls that barricade the water, so it doesn't flood. We had to walk on a temporary bridge the erected over the flooded parking lot and down into the stadium. It was incredible! 

We sat on a blanket on the grass in behind the outfield. Kate wasn't a fan of Rascal the River Bandit, but she was a fan of running away from us any chance she could get. 

Near the end of the game, the winds shifted and were blowing right where we were sitting, so they evacuated everyone on the grass so they wouldn't get harmed by the fireworks. So, we wandered for a bit and finally found an empty table to sit on and enjoy the fireworks. Leah loved them, as usual. We weren't so sure about Kate, but she was fascinated. We warned her beforehand that they would be really loud and she just stared at the night sky saying, "Fireworks. Loud. Fireworks. Loud." 

A few days later, we had a USA themed dinner (at least the decor, the food was Italian), with some friends who had just returned home from vacation the night before. 

It was quiet and quaint and I loved it. It was wonderful to celebrate and talk about the blessings and responsibilities that come from the freedoms we enjoy with my little family for the first time in our new town.