The 3rd of July

 we got our flag up just in time for the holiday

The 3rd of July was always my favorite for celebrating the 4th.  My family did the same thing every year: fried chicken & shrimp pasta salad for dinner, concert in the park & fireworks.  Centerville does a great job celebrating Independence Day!

This was my first year to be there for the 4th in 7 years!  It was just like I remembered and that made me happy.  Actually, it was even better because I had my own little family to share it with.

 killing time before driving up to Nana & Papa's

 I was in charge of dessert and brought shortcake bars 

Rather than bringing our traditional dinner to the park, we ate in my parent's backyard.  It gets a little more crowded each year.  I guess people finally started catching on to how fun it is!  Luckily my parents live a block away so we could walk over anytime.

This year we lucked out and it rained right before dinner.  We had much cooler weather the rest of the evening.  It was a little humid, but we were so happy to not be in the blazing sun!

After dinner we grabbed our chairs and walked over to the park.

The fireworks were great and Nana brought fun little baggies for each kid filled with goodies.  Papa even brought over a box of otterpops which we were all thankful for!  It was so fun to be together and see all the kids together.  We had my family, all of my siblings, cousins and kids, plus Wende & Ethan.  It was a great time!