4th of July Celebrations

This was our first year not being able to go to Duluth to see fireworks from our hotel room in quite some time, so we had to keep as many of the traditions going as we could. Every year, we like to spend a lot of time recapping some essential American History tidbits and doing art projects based on what we've discussed. Since Pete was home, he led the lesson and had the kids pick one of the nation's famous landmarks and draw it. Here are their drawings:

(Sorry this picture's blurry.)

This is Faith's drawing. The figure in the bottom left of the page is George Bush. The square in the middle of the bottom is the Lincoln Memorial building with a purple firework over it. The gray in the middle with heads on it is Mt. Rushmore. The rest are either fireworks, the sun, or clouds.
Dylan chose to stay simple and draw the flag. He accidentally cut off the bottom stripes when he was cutting paper to use for the flag pole! (I think he really did 50 stars, too.)Vince chose to make a picture of the flag blowing in the wind with fireworks around it. He spent a lot of time and we're all pleased with his efforts!
And finally, the efforts of Mr. Pete Poff. We were all impressed with his work and thought he was the perfect art teacher!

We began our evening with our traditional "pizza and a movie" and watched "National Treasure." While watching it, we verified many of the facts and parts in the movie to make sure they were accurately portrayed. Vince hopped online during various parts of the movie to either confirm or deny them. By the way-when Pete, Vince and I watched National Treasure 2 (not something I would watch with little ones), we learned (and confirmed) that there are, in fact, three statues of liberty! Just thought you'd like to know.

Anyway, we popped a few bags of popcorn and headed to the lake for fireworks. We were very impressed when we arrived and saw such a big, beautiful lake. It started to feel like Minnesota, until we realized that no one would be needing a sweat shirt for these fireworks. We also didn't need to bathe in mosquito repellent!
If we can confirm that there are no water snakes at this beach, we might even check it out another day! Anyway, before it got really dark, the kids had a blast catching fireflies. They almost always light up as soon as you let them out of your hands.
(Sorry-another blurry picture. Anyone want to buy me a new camera for Christmas? Just kidding!) It started to get dark and we all got comfy with a big bag of popcorn.

Okay, so the guys don't look too comfy. Oh well. As soon as a few fireworks went off, Gabie was mesmerized. We were surprised that he was even still awake. Whenever any of the other kids were this age, they were always asleep by the time the show started. Gabie is proving to be VERY different. In fact, halfway through the show, he got bored and started trying to wander around to find something else to do!
The kids' favorite fireworks this year proved to be the spiral design.

It was a great show and we just felt so blessed to have each other to share it with. We were glad to enjoy the day with Pete, as well as the next two days, because after that he'll be going up to Minnesota for two weeks for work. If we could afford to, we'd all go with. Maybe in the future if he goes back, we'll be able to go, too. Be in prayer with us for that!