Independence Day

Always such a busy weekend, with Mad Dog's birthday and Independence day back-to-back, but always a fun one too. The morning starts early with me leaving before the sun rises to catch MARTA for the race. Lehr gets the kids up shortly after that so they can eat and head down to watch the race. I'd never have thought that two young kids would enjoy watching countless runners go past them, but Lehr assures me they sit in a trance and just stare. They got there before the first runners came by, so Eli and Maddux got to see a few wheelchair racers and the police line, all from a front-row seat. My favorite part of the race is when I get to see them and come over to say 'hi', of course. Nothing more motivating than that!

After the race, we went to breakfast with D before heading to Krog Tunnel for some fun pictures. I didn't have the correct lens for the light, but it was still worthwhile. Even after all of that excitement, we still gt home by 11AM. Some birthday gift play time and lunch followed before we all took big big naps. Given how early everyone got up and the fact that we still had fireworks ahead of us, sleep was in order.

I got up around 4PM and was informed by D that the firework display we planned on seeing had actually taken place the night before. Luckily we were able to find one that was near our house, not too crowded, but equally as impressive as the downtown shows. A friend joined us on the golf course to watch and we all had a blast playing with the kids. We parked our towels right near a hill. Maddux and Eli alternated running down and rolling down the hill for a good hour with other kids. Then it got a little dark, so the sparklers and glo-bracelets came out. Finally the 'real' show. Even though it was loud, both kids loved it. No melt downs. No nightmares. Lots of fun.