Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! I'd like to take a moment to stop and say "Thank you" to all our troops, wherever they may be, for the committment and sacrifices they are making daily. Thanks too, to their families - I think I have it rough when Pete is gone for a couple of days on business, and then I think about the families that have a significant other gone for months at a time, the daddies that miss the births of their little ones, etc, and it all gets put into perspective. I may have issues with the Cook County sales tax rate, and rising gas prices, but all in all, we are lucky to live where we do.

(Off my soapbox now)

We had clear skies and nice weather for our parade, which is always wonderful. The kids managed to collect a pretty impressive bag of candy each, and I think Maddie managed to con Pete into 5 lollipops, each in succession. Unlike big brother (who samples for about 5 minutes, and then tosses it, satisfied) Maddie munched her way through all of them. Oh well, she made it to 28 months before she had her first lolly - not too bad!

We clapped to the bands, waved to the cheerleaders and petted the puppies, and walked home afterwards. It was a great morning!