Happy 4th!! (And 5th!!)

Happy birthday, America!  And while I'm still a citizen of the old country (i.e. Britain), I've almost spent half my life here and can safely say I do appreciate the holiday for what it is and what it represents.

That being said, let me give a quick shout out to our men and women in uniform who serve this nation, and to their family members who have to sacrifice so much for everyone who lives here.  (And if you can truly say you have no appreciation for the military, then why don't you exercise your constitutional right and up and leave, alright?!)

Well, this particular holiday is near and dear to my heart because Hubby and I have our wedding anniversary on the 5th, so the two usually go hand-in-hand for us.  This year we kept things fairly low key and had a cookout with my folks, followed by fireworks.  We had originally thought about going to Crocker Park in Brentwood for their fireworks display, which is where my parents sometimes go, but since it was going to be so late at night for the kids by the time we'd make it back home, we thought against it.

We did have one little surprise in the evening, however.  Since the boys were playing with some of the kids in the neighborhood, Gabe decided he was big enough to join in.  That was fine until he took a little tumble...

...and came face-to-face with the pavement.  Guess who won?  No, his eye's not swollen shut.  He's just grinning at the camera here, but it is a bit swollen from the bump and scrape.  He's a real trooper though, cried for a minute or two and was pitiful for a while there.  But then he was back up and running around again in no time.

The child knows no fear.  I'm starting to wonder if that's such a good thing.  :-\

Anyway, today was our anniversary, and when I talked to the Hubs on the phone tonight, I learned two rather irritating things.  Firstly, it turns out his supervisor wasn't even expecting him on the job site today, so there was no need to be up and out on the road at 3:30 a.m.  Secondly, while on his way to the job site where he wasn't needed, the Hubs scored a speeding ticket with Indiana's finest boys in blue.  UGH!  Really?  A speeding ticket??  TODAY?!?!  It'll be 2 weeks before he knows anything about a court date or even how much his fine would be.  And the sad part is he didn't even need to be there.

*Sigh!*  So, happy anniversary, huh?  Oh well.  I guess it could have been worse, right?