4th of July

We love the 4th of July. We always go to the parade on Magna Main STreet at noon. We sit in front of 5 Buck Pizza and enjoy all that Magna has to offer. This year, 5 Buck was having a hot dog eating contest. (Nate's sister's in laws own 5 Buck) We convinced Nate to enter (his entry fee was paid for by the owner so what did Nate have to lose?)plus he could win money..... Nate reluctantly agreed to do it, only because we nagged him so much. What are wives for? Anyways, it was a blast watching Nate eat all those hot dogs. He tied for second and won $10 plus 3 months worth of free pizza.... I knew he could do it! In the evening, we always go to the Cash's for a BBQ. I usually make fruit pizza, but this year I made the fruit pizza into cookies. It was yummy! Then at night, we go to my parents to watch the Magna fireworks!
I am grateful for this holiday and for all the sacrifice and courage it took for us to have our freedom. I always get teary eyed when I see the flag or when I hear our National Anthem, but even more so this year because my brother is being deployed to Afghanistan in a couple of weeks. He just got back from Iraq a year ago and volunteered to go to Afghanistan. He told me that he wanted to go so that maybe someone with a family could stay home. While he is there, we won't have any contact with him and won't know where he is or how he's doing.... He's been training intensely and my freedom means so much more to me knowing that my brother is fighting and willing to sacrifice his own life to keep us free. God bless America.