My Long Overdue 4th of July Post

So here it is. Sorry it took me longer than a week to post these pictures. We've been out of town visiting family. Still trying to get back into the normal swing of things.

This Fourth we decided to stay home for a change. It ended up being a great idea. On Saturday night, John and Jeannie joined us for some music in the park. Each year Coralville offers a free concert at S.T. Morrison Park during the weekend of the Fourth. One year they featured the band "Guess Who"; this band is probably best known for their song "American Woman." This year they featured the "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band." To be honest, I had never heard of them, but when I mentioned it to Jeannie she jumped up in excitement. Being a true Texan, she was very familiar with the "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band." I thought -- if Jeannie knows and likes them, then it must be good!

We were not disappointed. We had a blast at the concert! These guys are probably in their 60's now, but they had so much energy on stage. When Leah wasn't busy greeting everyone around us, she loved bouncing up and down to the music. She's our little social butterfly!

Leah socializing with everyone at the concert

On the night of the Fourth, we had friends from our small group over at our house for a barbecue. That night we were able to grill our food minutes before it started to rain. We were convinced that the fireworks downtown would be cancelled. The rain let off around 9pm so we decided to walk downtown and see if they were still having the show. We stopped a police officer to ask him and he said that the show was still on. He also let us know that we could stand on a pedestrian bridge overlooking the Iowa River for the best views. We went over to the bridge and there was barely anyone there. Everyone either (1) did not know about this amazing spot OR (2) thought the show was cancelled. It was like we had front row seats! This was Leah's first fireworks show and she loved it. At first she was hesitant, did not want to be passed to Daddy, but she just stared at the lights in amazement. Not one cry!

Leah enjoying some 4th of July cupcakes

Of course, right when we walked back into our house we heard a loud sound coming from outside. When we opened the door it was pouring rain. God cleared the sky just for us to pay tribute to our wonderful country!