Happy 4th of July!!

. . . a few days late. :-) I hope you had a terrific holiday weekend. It's probably my 2nd favorite holiday of all (Christmas, of course, being the 1st!) in spite of my dislike for sudden, loud noises - i.e. fireworks. Although, I like them more now than I ever have. I guess my ears are getting less sensitive with age. :) So, here's my weekend in a nutshell . . .

I worked Thursday night, so I slept a good part of Friday. But, when I woke up, I went to my friends' house near here for a cook out and some neighborhood fireworks. They have two kids under the age of 5 (Oh, if we could bottle that energy we'd be millionaires!!). They were SOOOO cute watching the fireworks from the window of the living room. They were squealing with excitement every time one would go off. We just laughed & laughed at them. I LOVE seeing things through the eyes of children. It's so enlightening and refreshing!

Saturday, I went to a local minor league game with a friend who had come to see downtown DC. The Washington Nationals were out of town for the weekend (ironic since they play in our nation's capital, oh well), so we went to their single A team, the Potomac Nationals. Anyways, it was a close game. The two teams seemed equally matched, but the visitors bested us by just one point in the top of the 9th. I can't say that I was too sad, though, because the other team was a farm team for my Houston Astros. It was a fun time. The picture to the left is of their mascot "Uncle Slam". A little scary if you ask me, but the kids seemed to like him. :-) I must give credit where credit is due . . . the "sounds person" (the person who plays the scenario-appropriate songs and sound effects) was incredible at this stadium!! He was johnny-on-the-spot with song/sound clips for everything. It was VERY entertaining! After the game, they put on a "fantastic fireworks show." And it's in quotes because that's how they announced it throughout the game. I thought that was funny, but it was really a great show! It lasted 15-20 minutes, and they had some fun patriotic music playing over the speakers to make it perfect for the holiday weekend.

Today, we spent touring downtown DC. It was fun to see all the July 4th decorations that were still up. There's just something special about being there on the birthday of our great nation. It's insanely crowded (in spite of all the rain & thunderstorms), but it's SO worth it. There's excitement in the air. Anyways . . . here are a few of my favorite pictures from today.

The Executive Office Building

One of the MANY flags along the Vietnam Wall

And, what's a trip to DC without a picture of the Washington Monument?!?

I hope you had a terrific weekend playing with friends and family!