Let Freedom Ring

4th of July was low key and quiet around our house - literally.  Jay says he heard some, but I didn't hear one firecracker!  That's a far cry from our last neighborhood, where they were heard days before the 4th and all night long on the 4th.  We have also had neighborhood BBQs the past few years, so this year was a change of pace but it was good.  There is so much to do around DC on the 4th and maybe next year we will venture into the city for one of the parades and firework shows.  But frankly, its so hot here the last thing I wanted to do was pack up all the kids and walk around in the city with millions of other people!  I guess I am getting old...

We started the morning out by breaking out the NINE squirt guns that Scotty got for his birthday and the boys, even Jay and Diane, joined in a water gun fight.  Didn't snap any pics of that for some reason.  But then they broke out the new water hose from Auntie and Uncle:

And then the regular sprinkler:

In Washington, we had to set these things up in the sunshine to keep from getting cold. Here, we gotta play in the shade to keep from scorching ourselves!

We considered going to the Patomac Nationals baseball game because they were due to have a fireworks show after the game.  But believe it or not, I wasn't up for a baseball game!  The stadium is so close to our house, so I thought maybe we could skip the game and just go over to their parking lot when it came time for the show.  However, there is a little soft serve ice cream place just up the road from us and Jay had overheard that they can see a clear view of the fireworks from their parking lot, so we thought it would be fun to get ice cream and watch from there instead of going anywhere too far or around too much of a crowd.  But, apparently, that's what a few people thought!

The parking lot was packed when we pulled up and the little ice cream joint was full of people!  But it wasn't so terrible, we were able to find a perfect parking spot and the line inside the place moved quickly.

Next time, Zac gets a cup 

Even I indulged; vanilla with chocolate and peanut butter sauce (zero calories of course) 

We waited for about two hours 

And it was over in 10 minutes! :) 

But the boys had fun staying out late in the dark

Even though we were sweating just sitting there... 

It was a great night to briefly celebrate our nation's birthday!