Today is July 4th. This is the day when we celebrate our independence; as a new nation, under God. We are thankful to those who fought for our freedoms and for those who are currently and will serve. A most heart-felt 'thank you' is owed to you!
We hung our flag proudly today; we put out stars-and-stripes decorations and Cam even bought me a bouquet of red, white, and blue carnations! But for the rest of the day, we spent it enjoying time with friends and partaking in one of the many freedoms we are blessed with: mountain biking!
I realize this may sound completely un-patriotic but our ability to take a day and experience/enjoy this beautiful land and country is one of the privileges we have here...something I feel our founding fathers would have wanted us to be able to delight in. But I digress...we chose to spend our day, not only being thankful, but being active and acquiring new skills, knowledge, and appreciation for the country in which we live.
It was the perfect day for mountain biking; the sun was out but there was a breeze to cool us down. We took our time, explored several new trails around the area, talked, but most of all we enjoyed every minute or our day. I'm not going to try to fool you either...we're all extremely sore:) But I honestly feel like that was part of the fun.
When we were finally finished - after about 15 miles and three intense hours - we were so thrilled; not only to be finished but to know we saw and experienced so much today...so much we take for granted every other day!
We ended our Fourth of July celebration with fire-works. We bought some from the stand down the road and set them off in the street. No matter how small they were or how short they seemed to last, something about setting off your own fireworks is so much fun!! And, as an added bonus, we could even see the community fire-works show from our house - in all it's splendor!!
I will always be thankful to those who continually fight for our freedoms, on and off the battle field. Yes, this is a day to celebrate our independence, but I feel it is also a day to truly be thankful for all we have been given and have to opportunity to partake in!
I wish you all the happiest Fourth!
Share with me, if you will, what you did this Independence Day and what it means to you and your family! :)
Like you Susie and I got to explore the beauty and power of the deschutes yesterday. Going thru 5 or more no.3 class rapids. What an exhilerating experience. And great team work. I feeling the benifits of being sore this morning but knowing its all good.
ReplyDeleteLove learning more about you from your blogs. Makes me love you a little more with each one.
xoxoxo Auntie Jojo.