Fourth of July Weekend at Home

The big Fourth of July activity on Fort Rucker is called Freedom Fest.  It's held at the start of the 4 day weekend that pretty much everyone on post gets for the holiday.  If Freedom fest was actually held on the fourth half the local population would be out of town enjoying the break.  So this year Freedom Fest was held on the First of July.

We had a great time celebrating Independence Day on both the First of July and the Fourth of July.  Here's the run down of everything we did.

The story of our Fourth of July Weekend actually starts with a day in June. A school day in June.   Derrick goes to summer school three days a week.  The bus picks him up right from our driveway and drops him off again almost 4 hours later.  It's pretty much the best thing ever.  He's always really excited to go to school. He's been known to wake me up at 5:45 talking about the bus and school and his backpack.

He was so proud of this windsock that he made at school.  He proudly carried it off the bus. He kept telling me about the Stars on it. 

With Derrick occupied away from the house I'm able to focus on Charlotte and Lydia (and Veronica too - but she's good at entertaining herself). The girls and I decided that we should make skirts this summer.  My mom started unofficially teaching me how to sew when I was around the girls age so I figured it was about time to start passing on my knowledge.  

We were going to buy fabric, but then I found that I had a whole bunch of blue fabric with black stars on it.  This is the same fabric that I used to make the curtains for the kids' rooms. I'd always planned on using it to make a dress for Charlotte and Lydia.  The girls were all for that plan.  And the stars made it vaguely Fourth of July-y so they started calling the skirts their Fourth of July skirts and made plans to wear them to the Firework show on July 1st.  

So we set out to make the skirts.  Both girls were very interested in sewing, but they weren't big fans of all the prep work that goes into it.  They were getting bored before I was done straightening out the pattern and fabric.

Still they did enjoy helping me sew a few seems. Their favorite parts were when I had them push down on the pedal while I sewed around the bottom of the ruffle. I thought I would have to have a ton of patience to teach them how to sew, but really I just had to have more patience then their little bit.  After they lost interest they virtually left me alone while I worked on gathering all the ruffles.

I had to sew most of the day on Friday, but I got the skirts done within a few hours of when we were going to see the fireworks.  Charlotte and Lydia were very happy with their skirts and I was happy to have finally accomplished my plan to make them something out of that star fabric.  (Slowly and surely I'm finishing my backlog of well-intentioned craft project from the past few years.)

After I got the skirts done we had fun making patriotic ribbons for the girls hair.  I wanted to put Veronica in a blue shirt, but she picked out her little brown dress, and REFUSED to wear anything else.  I was a miracle she agreed to the red pants.  Looking back at it, her dress kind of looks like it had fireworks on it.

Brandon had part of the day off.  (Which was how I'd been able to finish the skirts.)  He was assigned to help with directing traffic after the firework show.  But he was free before that.  He did a great job of packed everything we'd need into the wagon.  Then we all walked up to the festival fields which are less than a mile from our house.

There were lots of large things that the kids could have played on. There was a zip line and some sort of large slide.  Plus there were a whole bunch of bounce houses.  But all those things cost money - and a lot of it.   I told the girls that I wasn't even bringing my wallet and that they shouldn't ask to play on anything. They were really good and didn't ask.

Instead we checked out the static displays of real helicopters.

Children on Fort Rucker are some of the luckiest children in the world. 

We'd arrived around 6:30 and at 7:00 the live concert started.  This was what I was really looking forward to so we found a good spot and settled in. I'd tried to get the kids to take naps earlier in the day, but that hadn't worked.  (Even with walking to the swimming pool and swimming for over an hour.)  So Derrick was pretty sleepy which made him grumpy.  Also he was mad that we weren't riding on the train.  (I was not paying $3 a ticket to go around the block like we did last year.) But most of all he was upset about all the noise.  We sat toward the back of the field, but the speakers were turned up loud and Derrick was not happy about it.  

We distracted him with treats that Brandon had packed.  There was cotton candy, pringles, and root beer.

Veronica wasn't too happy about all the noise either (she goes along with whatever Derrick is feeling) but she was happy about the sugar so gradually she felt better about the whole thing.

Derrick seemed resigned to his fate and I got him to come sit with me.  We all enjoyed listening to
the 98th Army "Silver Wings" Band.  Actually forget everything you think you know about an Army Band.  This was really Cross Fire a rock band made up of Army Band members.  They preform cover songs of popular music and are really good.

As the night got darker we pulled out the glowsticks that we'd bought at the dollar store.  (We come prepared to these types of things.) Charlotte, Lydia, and Veronica had a lot of fun playing with the glowsticks and dancing to the music.  

Derrick alternated between sitting with me and sitting in the wagon. Veronica stole his spot when ever he left me.

Derrick was still upset about the noise, but overall he just seemed really sleepy.  We'd totally forgot to bring his blanket and he kept asking for it.  Finally I pulled out the towel that Brandon had used to keep our rootbeer cold.  That towel was good enough for Derrick and he was asleep within minutes.

About this time I started to get really sentimental about this evening. The band played the song Home while they showed a video of different things around Fort Rucker.  I've never really cared about that song before, but it stuck a cord with me on this night. I realize I can really relate to the lyrics.

Home
Hold on to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along

Just know you're not alone
'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble—it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone
'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

I realized how much I love living here on Fort Rucker in Alabama.  This has been my home for over a year.  And before that I spent two years hoping that we'd have a chance to live here. I love this small community. It's a great place to call home.

It will be my home for a little bit longer too. If Brandon was still in flight school this summer he'd be finishing up in the fall and we'd be moving around October.  That's not the case anymore and we are here for at least the next 6 months or maybe a even a year.  I'm happy about that because this place is great.

But I have no idea where we are going to live after Fort Rucker.  Who knows where we will be celebrating Independence Day next year.  And that's scary, exciting, and bittersweet all at once.

I thought of another song with lyrics that I always mishear, but that speak to me anyway.  These are from Come thou Fount of Every Blessing.  The real lyrics are "Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love."  They allude to sin and pride and straying from the right path.  But I always hear:

"Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the land I love"

Those lyrics make me think of all the places that I've loved and yet left.  All the places where I felt at home, but then decided to wander off and build another home somewhere else.  I've made myself at home in and then wandered from Salt Lake to Ephraim to Logan to Bountiful, to Fort Hood to Fort Rucker.  One day it will be time to leave this wonderful home and discover what's next.
  
All these thoughts were going through my mind as I watched the kids dance around.  I know we'll celebrate plenty of other Independence Days, but we'll never have this one, in this place ever again.

Don't worry though, I wasn't all sad and nostalgic. I was actually really happy.  For weeks I'd been worried about how Derrick and Veronica would handle the fire works.  Last year Derrick had climbed in the wagon, buried his face in his hands, and went completely catatonic as soon as he heard the first boom. I'd been trying to get him excited about about them by showing him videos on youtube.  He was intrigued and kept asking so "go see Fireworks."  But I was still worried about how he'd handle the noise.  And I knew Veronica would freak out if Derrick did.

So when Derrick and then Veronica both fell asleep while the loud concert was going on, I figured that was a pretty good sign that they'd sleep through the firework show.  All my fears had been for nothing.

The band came to their last number.  Before they sang it the lead singer reminded everyone that the 98th Army Band was going to be disbanded in a few months.  (Budget cuts.)  It was just another reminder that this celebration wouldn't be the same next year.  

Then they launched into their traditional final song - Sweet Home Alabama. . Charlotte and I were really excited because we'd been looking forward to hearing them sing this for several weeks. It was our favorite part of the concert last year.  There is nothing like hearing Sweet Home Alabama played live while you are in Alabama.  I made sure to take a long video that does decent job of capturing the atmosphere of the concert while doing an excellent job of capturing my off key singing.  

 
Then it was 9:00 and time for the firework show. (It gets dark super early here because we live 50 miles from the Eastern Time Zone.) I don't really care for firework shows anymore, but I love watching them through my kids eyes.  Charlotte and Lydia oohed and aahhed during the 15 minute show.  Derrick and Veronica slept the whole time.

Brandon had surreptitiously stripped down to his PT uniform during the show.  As soon as the last firework went off he ran over to his assigned area near the Commissary and helped direct traffic.  Since I had two sleeping children laying on me I just stayed where I was and told him to come back for us when he was done.  Charlotte and Lydia laid down too.

Many people who passed by commented on how cute it was to see all four kids laying down and almost asleep.  One man offered to take our picture for me.  Another lady gave us glow sticks for when the kids woke up.  A few people asked if I needed help. I explained that my husband was directing traffic and would be back to help me soon.

I wasn't quite sure how we'd get everyone home if Charlotte and Lydia fell asleep.  I figured that Brandon could run home and come back with the Honda if it really came down to that.  Instead Derrick woke up after about 20 minutes anyway.  I put him into the wagon and put Veronica in there too.  She cried for a little bit but then fell asleep sitting up.  Charlotte and Lydia were still energetic enough to walk.  I texted Brandon and told him we were heading his way.  He replied back that he was almost done and would meet us on our way.  So we met up with him and then he pulled the wagon home.

As soon as we got home everyone changed into pajamas and went to bed.

The next day was Saturday and we didn't have much planned.  Which was good because everyone was out of sorts from staying up so late the night before.

We did have plans to make some treats so we all worked on those.  If I have one complaint about my kitchen its that it doesn't have a good prep surface for working on things with the kids.  Our last three homes have all had large island type counters that the kids could stand around.  But this one doesn't have anything like that.  Everyone always seems to be in my way when we are working on things together and it drives me crazy.  Well I finally got smart and pulled out the card table.  Suddenly, I didn't feel claustrophobic.  And it was low enough the kids could stand around it without stools. Success!

Sunday was a little bit better, but I think we were still trying to reset our sleep schedules.  In the afternoon Derrick was pestering me and I asked him if he wanted to make cookies with Daddy.  Derrick said yes and then surprised us all by helping out with the whole process of making cookies.  Usually he loses interest pretty fast.  But this time he helped with everything and even held the beaters.

And I had to get a picture of myself because I'd curled my hair and it looked great.  Earlier in the week I'd decided that I wanted bangs and so I cut them myself.  I've been so happy with my hair every since.

One reason Derrick stayed so focused on the cookies was that he didn't have Charlotte and Lydia taking over things for him.  They were off in the toy room pretending to go camping with all their babies.

Monday was the real Fourth of July and we started out our celebration by going to a pancake breakfast with our ward.  Earlier I'd volunteered Brandon to help cook the breakfast and he was happy to do that.

They had a small flag ceremony outside and even though it wasn't even 9:00 yet everyone was sweating by the end of it.  We were all happy to move indoors.

The breakfast was good and the kids were really well behaved for me.

There were little bubble wands and those kept Derrick entertained for a long time.

There were also some little games and activities in the Primary Room. Charlotte and Lydia had fun decorating flags. They stayed in there a long time.

Here's one of Lydia's.

There was a little parade where the kids were supposed to walk around the cultural hall.  Charlotte and Lydia were busy with their flags and didn't want to participate.  But Derrick and Veronica did. I had to walk with them, but they didn't cry. Veronica enjoyed it so much that she kept parading even after the music stopped.

Brandon finished cooking and came inside to socialize.  I took this picture because everyone was wearing blue.  Our friend TJ got pulled in because he was also wearing blue.

The kids were getting bored so I took them home while Brandon stayed to clean up.  He ended up with a lot of the extra food including some cream so he came home and made ice cream.

While that process was going on we pulled out all of the treats we'd made earlier in the week.  We had this flag inspired arrangement.

Brandon had helped us with these rice crispy treats.

And we'd all worked on these oreo pops.

Everything looked great all together.  I kind of wished we'd invited friends over to help us eat it all.  But I was also kind of glad that we didn't have to share.

We had everyone sit down at the table and we ate the treats while talking a little bit about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and American History in general.

After that it was time to do something that I've wanted to do for a long time.  Go bowling.

There is a bowling alley on post and on Mondays evenings they have games for only 50 cents and shoe rental for 50 cents too.  I've wanted to go bowling on a Monday night for a long time, but I've always worried about how Derrick would handle all the noise and the activity.

Well for the Fourth of July the price for a game was only 25 cents and 50 cents for shoes.  I figured that even if Derrick hated the event doing a family activity for $4.50 was a steal of a deal.

Surprisingly Derrick wasn't the kid I needed to worry about.  For some reason Charlotte was really concerned about going bowling.  And when I told her that she would need to change her shoes that set her over the top.  She cried so much about it.  I think she was really just nervous about doing something new.  I told her that the best way to learn how to do something new is to have someone show her. I told her that I would be there to show her how to do everything.

But honestly I was having lots of the same scared feelings.  A thousand what ifs were going through my head.  What if Derrick screamed and everyone looked at me like I was a bad parent, what if the bowling alley didn't have shoes in the kids' sizes, what if they didn't have light balls, what if they didn't have bumpers, what if they didn't even let kids bowl, what if we messed up someone elses game, what if the place was too crowded, what if the place was closed, what if we got there but it didn't really cost 25 cents, what if what if what if.

Thoughts like these ALWAYS run through my head when I do something for the first time.  And the only way I know how to get rid of them is to tell myself, "nothing ventured, nothing gained."  We could stay home and be bored or we could take a risk and actually do something and it might actually be really cool.

So even though Charlotte was crying, and Derrick is sensitive to noise, and Veronica fell asleep on the 3 minute drive to the bowling alley, I held my head up high and we walked into the building. Veronica perked right up and Charlotte calmed down as soon as she realized it was just a normal building.  Derrick got overwhelmed for a minute and so Brandon had to take care of ordering our games.  But soon we were situated at our lane and helping the kids change their shoes and pick out their balls.  

And guess what?  Everyone LOVED bowling.

Derrick especially loved pushing his ball and watching it knock over pins.

Veronica was surprisingly good, and had a better score than Brandon most of the time. (Bumpers helped that of course.)

At first we didn't have one of the kid ball slide things, but then one became available and we grabbed it.  That sped up our games considerably because before we got that the balls had been rolling super super slow down the lane.

I won because apparently I can only bowl strikes or gutter balls.  Derrick came in right behind me.

Everyone agreed that it had been really fun, and they all wanted to come here again sometime.

The next day Brandon didn't have to go to work, but Derrick had school.  We just kind of hung around the house in the morning.  We went to the pool in the afternoon, but right before we got there the lifeguards spotted lightning.  We could see a large thunder storm headed our way so we figured the pool wasn't going to reopen.  The kids were MAD.  But later we let them play in the rain and they forgot all about missing out on the pool.

I'm so glad that we had a chance to have a relaxing long weekend at home.  Like I've said all through the post, I don't know what we'll be doing for the fourth next year so I'm glad we got to enjoy this one here in Alabama.