Happy 4th of July: Meilani does Fireworks!

We enjoyed our 4th of July in the patriotic state of Virginia this year. We are (temporarily) living in a diverse, little neighborhood with brick houses painted with Americana colors and 4th of July is a big deal around here. We took a walk in the afternoon and enjoyed seeing all the families barbecuing and drinking in each other's company under canopies and on the great front porches in this area. This made us miss our families in California but we are grateful for the time here as well.

In the evening we joined a group of students in the Children's Literature and Film Studies programs for an Independence Barbecue. My friend Jenette was the hostess with the mostest and made homemade chili and dogs and we all brought the other potluck items. We made our favorite American Flag Cake complete with strawberries for the stripes and blueberry stars.

As you can see from the photos, Meilani was wrestling us for the berries, but it was big fun to decorate. Meilani loved playing with her new friends Micah and Ari at the party. She was entertaining all the adults and stuffing watermelon in her mouth in between laughter.

The highlight was Meilani's first fireworks show at our friends, Jan & Pat Wright's house. They host a church summer camp for kids and there were 250-plus high schoolers on the grounds. We went over early to see their son, Josh Wright (a former basketball player on Ericlee's team from Fresno Christian), and catch up with his exciting, college-boy life. Meilani played at her favorite park with the red slide. The fireworks show was about 9:15 p.m. She was alarmed at first by the loud noises and flashing lights but she settled in for the show. Our favorite ones were like fireflies dancing around in the sky.