Independence Day in DC

Really, celebrating the Fourth of July here is not a difficult thing to enjoy -- the hardest part is deciding what to do. Having braved the madness and crowds on the mall for the fireworks in the past, we opted to wait until our kids were a little older to try that option. Instead, we did one of our favorite things and went on the night of the 3rd to the dress rehearsal for the Capital Fourth concert on the west lawn of the capitol. We hung out for an hour and a half on the lawn. The girls played, got acquainted with those on the blankets next to us, and read stories. When the sun went down and the concert started the weather was gorgeous! (Our other 4th's in DC have been blazing hot or rainy, so we know the other options well.) The girls danced all over and had a GREAT time. I think their very favorite song was Great Balls of Fire. What a way to start our holiday.



The morning of the Fourth we went to the Fairfax City parade, which was really quite good. Our campaign days have given Jeffrey and I ample exposure to parades of all lengths and qualities, and this one was FAR better than ANY we ever attended in Utah. Mia and Maggie loved the huge Elmo balloon. I was glad they managed to refrain from collecting lots of paraphernalia from the Fairfax Republican party and only left with a Warner for Senate sticker. But, Jeffrey liked the Polish American String Band from Philadelphia best. You would just need to see and hear them to get a full picture, but for a taste check out www.polishamericanstringband.com.



Later, we lit off fireworks at home, in three different spurts between the rain storms. Maggie spent most of the time hiding from the noise on my lap under her blanket. We also watched the Manassas City fireworks from inside our car in a parking lot, while enjoying dessert and staying dry. Happy Independence Day!