The Fourth

For the past five years, Chad and I have been celebrating the 4th of July on the Esplanade in Boston.  The city girl in me loved it - over a million people gathering on this thin strip of park along the banks of the Charles River in downtown Boston for honestly one of the cooler fireworks displays out there.  They shoot the fireworks from a barge in the middle of the river, so they are right overhead, making an impressive show.  We also always met with friends and ate really yummy food in a beautiful location with typically amazing weather.  I loved my Boston 4th of July and miss it desperately.

Well, kids and a job have changed our venue, but the 4th is still a good day.  Jacksonville is a heavily military town, and our neighborhood is primarily military.  Driving home from the store yesterday, I noticed that the Homeowners Association had put flags by the mailboxes of all the houses in our neighborhood.  A small thing, certainly, but I was touched by it.

We're in Raleigh this weekend, and my parents are members of the neighborhood pool.  We took Nathan down to the pool today, and he loved it.  Absolutely loved it.  This pool, unlike our pool, has a baby pool, and he loved that he could walk everywhere.  He hasn't quite learned how walking and not falling or slipping works - he's a lifeguard's worst nightmare - but he loved playing with all the toys and that the pool was made for people his size.  He was sad to leave after an hour and a half of all-out playing.  Can we say that Grandma's house is now firmly on his list of favorite places?  Between the pond in the backyard, unlimited french toast sticks, stairs, and the pool, Nathan likes Raleigh.