A True Celebration!!

We had MUCH to celebrate this 4th of July.  It was a great time to celebrate freedoms but also because we had just, LITERALLY JUST gotten our power back on from the Derecho.  So if the kids look EXTRA happy in these pictures, well, lets just say they are, "Proud to be an American!"

What can we say, the prospect of fireworks makes everyone very smiley!

Plus we got to celebrate with friends.  From Left to Right...Ansley Grawrock, Keely Mahaffey, Briley Tobias, (Behind her) Landon Grawrock, Landon Mahaffey, Sydney Mahaffey, Cael Grawrock, (sitting) Alexys Tobias, LJ Tobias.

The members of the Mahaffey Crew

Best friends

Best friends...ha ha...get it!  just kidding.  There is an ice cream cart near where we watch fireworks in Lexington, so every year we are there, we go over and get some ice cream while we wait.  It's not quite as big a hit as the fireworks, but it creates lots of big smiles!!

A couple of people ready for fireworks, and just happy to go home to electricity afterwards!

We watch the fireworks from a grass area in front of a small shopping area that has a Peebles, YMCA, and a Tractor Supply store.  It also has a small local bank, a Karate dojo, and an oil change place.  Anyway, it's about a mile and a half from VMI's (virginia military institute - a military university in lexington) parade grounds.  That is where they normally fire off the fireworks.  It's a great location as it's up the hill from VMI, so we see the fireworks perfectly.  What we didn't know was that it was also great because it made the fireworks not so loud.  Well this year we got there, got all set up, did the sparklers and ice cream, and then found out that the fireworks were going to be going off from Rockbridge County High School, just across the street from where we were...maybe 100 yards or less away.  Well, we got a SPECTACULAR show this year, the fireworks looked like they were right on top of us, but as you can see in the picture, they also happened to be VERY LOUD!  The kids loved it though, them being so close, they just had to cover their ears!

we had to lay down and look straight up to see them because, as I said, they were almost right on top of us!

It was a spectacular show.  We almost felt like they had put on the show to say, "Congrats Mahaffey family for living through this trying time of no electricity...but you made it, and now you have electricity back on!!!"  

Happy 4th of July - 2012....we won't forget you anytime soon!