Happy 4th!

We have so many fun memories from the 4th of July this year - with the Petersons, we went to Antietam battlefield and listened to the Maryland Symphony Orchestra perform, then watched an amazing fireworks show. The next night, we went with friends to Sherwood Forest's fireworks display (amazing), and watched from the side of the Severn River as the sky was lit up by all colors of fantastic (punctuated by the most innocent and funny comments from the 8-year-old boys sitting next to us - "that was SIIIIICK!"). Finally, we rounded out our celebratory weekend at a cookout with good friends, lots of watermelon, and watching 7 kids under the age of 4 run around and get goofy.

My favorite moment of the weekend? Easy. Picture this: We're sitting at Antietam battlefield on fold-out chairs and blankets... we've just finished an American dinner of fried chicken and baked beans while listening to the MSO perform... Michael has been running around waving his freebie flag like crazy, when the orchestra comes to their final song - Stars and Stripes. Stars and Stripes ends with cannon shots, by the way. So Michael decides that now, at 9:45, is when he can take no more and cuddles up into my lap. I think it's really sweet, but start to panic when I realize cannons are coming in 2.5 minutes. I plug my finger in his ear, begin to blow softly on his sweaty head, and hope against hope that he doesn't freak out.

From July 2011

He literally slept through the ENTIRE fireworks display.

I'm throwing away our sound machine tomorrow.