We had a nice day today, the Friday before the Fourth of July. We were out shopping for a bit, getting some groceries for the big day, but also for the usual sake of things. We were low on milk, and pizza too. Got to have that pizza for Madison. She has this one pizza that she loves, and so we sort of stockpile that for emergencies. We were over at the Wal-Mart, where we could also get some shampoo and some photos printed of Nana and Ye-Ye over the years. It's their fiftieth anniversary, and we were assembling all kinds of pictures that we've scanned this week.
Wow, what a celebration. There were flyovers by our Armed Forces, including the Blue Angels you see there above. They've been flying over hospitals the last few months with coordinated patterns to help boost morale, and tonight, they flow over Mount Rushmore as well, as shown in this spectacular pattern.
The President was there, as seen here in this photo above, along with another team of pilots flying overhead. The band was playing patriotic music, and it was just neat to see a patriotic display this time of year, one that ended with fireworks over Mount Rushmore, of course, all set to patriotic music.
We've been to Mount Rushmore a few times, and this makes me want to go back to South Dakota. Lately in the news, there's been an assault on statues of all things. Statues of Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson and many more have been attacked by violent groups, and of course places like Mount Rushmore and Stone Mountain are under scrutiny now as people focus on the flaws of past heroes, rather than the sacrifices they made to make this country the place of freedom it is today. One excerpt from the speech by the President tonight sums up Dr. Martin Luther King's thoughts on the matter: "He called on his fellow citizens not to rip down their heritage, but to live up to their heritage." The host of the evening, Mary Hart, spoke of a time in the sixties when our country was going through a similar time of turmoil, but reminded us all how this country grew stronger afterwards, as we all came together. That's the prayer for our nation, that we would all come together again, and come together stronger, and yes, live up to our heritage.
One of our neighbors was kind enough to give us some of her surplus vegetable plants, and we were putting them in the ground today - now we have a full garden box down below, one with squash, peas, zucchini, tomatoes, and leeks as well. We planted those, got some more mulch down (it's a big process), waded all the new things we put in the ground with the new hose. What a difference a good hose makes. Anyway, the yard is looking nice, although the grass is already getting up there in height again. With all the rain, it's been growing so fast lately!
I did some writing today, and Madison did some piano practice. Mommy has been working on ancestry a lot lately, and Madison and I were playing LEGO Avengers some, the two of us wandering the streets of New York, both as Thanos, saving the day. The thing about LEGO games is you can be anyone, and do anything. The tag-teams are always interesting - Ultron and Raina (from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), for example. The two of us spent some time playing that.
One thing we did tonight was watch the Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore.
Wow, what a celebration. There were flyovers by our Armed Forces, including the Blue Angels you see there above. They've been flying over hospitals the last few months with coordinated patterns to help boost morale, and tonight, they flow over Mount Rushmore as well, as shown in this spectacular pattern.
The President was there, as seen here in this photo above, along with another team of pilots flying overhead. The band was playing patriotic music, and it was just neat to see a patriotic display this time of year, one that ended with fireworks over Mount Rushmore, of course, all set to patriotic music.
We've been to Mount Rushmore a few times, and this makes me want to go back to South Dakota. Lately in the news, there's been an assault on statues of all things. Statues of Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson and many more have been attacked by violent groups, and of course places like Mount Rushmore and Stone Mountain are under scrutiny now as people focus on the flaws of past heroes, rather than the sacrifices they made to make this country the place of freedom it is today. One excerpt from the speech by the President tonight sums up Dr. Martin Luther King's thoughts on the matter: "He called on his fellow citizens not to rip down their heritage, but to live up to their heritage." The host of the evening, Mary Hart, spoke of a time in the sixties when our country was going through a similar time of turmoil, but reminded us all how this country grew stronger afterwards, as we all came together. That's the prayer for our nation, that we would all come together again, and come together stronger, and yes, live up to our heritage.
We went to bed a little later tonight, but it was a nice set-up for the Fourth of July weekend, a great display of patriotism. We should be proud of our nation. It is made up of humanity, which is flawed of course, but it is one we're immensely proud to live in, the greatest nation on the planet. Other countries can feel that way about where they live, and that's okay too. It's okay to be proud of where you're from. Especially if that's America!
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