Happy 4th of July!

Since most of our peeps are in the USA, tonight more than other nights I am feeling the distance. As we have finished celebrating the 4th of July in Korea, most of you are just waking up with the whole day ahead of you. Ours worked out unexpectedly well. Let me explain how: We planned nothing. All the kids knew about the 4th of July was that we were going to a church picnic at 11am. Beyond that, it was just Friday. Everything that happened beyond the picnic was a totally unexpected bonus, making us seem like some of the most fun parents on the block.


It started off with an early morning 5K for me. I was pleased with finishing in just over 23 minutes and being the first female finisher. However, given that the first male finisher did it in 16 minutes, you can see the gap in talent from the male to the female field. Oh well, it was a good showing for me, all things considered. Great way to start the day.

After the race, I came home and got the family ready for the branch picnic. It was only about 78 degrees, but with 100% humidity that makes for a very hot day. So we opted out of the kick-ball game, and into the outdoor pool instead. The kids didn't even know that I had brought their swimming suits. So that was surprised number one of the day.


After an hour or so at the pool, we told the kids it was time to go find some food. But first, since Darin had stuck a baseball bat in the stroller, we went for food by way of the batting cages. Henry says Darin was better than me, but I'm pretty sure I was awesome.

We walked over to the BX to find some food and some air conditioning. After spending a while enjoying a late afternoon snack, we decided we'd go back home for a while. But then, we walked outside and as we were about to cross the street to go home, we saw that "Wall E" was starting in 5 minutes. Darin and I quickly conferenced and decided that since movie theaters are usually so nice and cool, we could lose nothing by spending a few hours watching a movie. The kids could not believe their good fortune that rather than go home, we hopped in line to the movies.

We walked out of "Wall-E" (where Jane, Ruby and Darin got nice little naps), and decided that it had cooled off enough to go to the Liberty Fest at the flight light. The Air Force had arranged for some great summer time entertainment, so once again, instead of going home, we took the kids to the street party. After bouncing castles, balloons and free random 4th of July stuff, as well as diverse entertainment...

We steered our group towards the grand finale of our 4th of July, dinner at Chili's. For some reason it's a high light for our kids and nothing says a good time like the whole family sitting down to dinner there.

Finally it was 7pm and we had left the house around 10:30am. We walked out of Chili's and ran into an old friend from Germany who we had been hoping to find! A pleasant evening chat on the sidewalk, a final walk home. And the kids collapsed in their beds at about 8pm. Darin and I watched the fireworks out on the lawn with the Korean neighbors over the fence. And that was then the end of our unplanned, but surprisingly fun 4th of July. Hope yours turns out just as fun.