Happy 4th!

Tonight was amazing. Our little Mayberry always does up every holiday in such a old fashioned way. They have a mini county type fair with bake offs, hot dog eating contests, pony rides, bouncy castles. Only it's just for the surrounding neighborhoods so it's not crowded AT ALL.
Had the neighbors over. Hid the remote so my neighbor could not walk into one of my dinner parties and take over the television for the entire night as she likes to do. (Although her husband still stayed on his blackberry the whole time and the son is still a douche) Everyone ate, played jinga. (It rained on and off for much of the evening so we couldn't play outside after 5) We bought a pinata for the kiddies and filled it with the coolest stuff. When my husband went to hang it in the front yard we already had a group of kids waiting for us. Every holiday we try to do something for the whole cul de sac. My husband is one of 6 kids so he knows how to entertain a crowd. Then all of the parents pulled out the fireworks and put on a show.
Such a much needed respite from all the madness. And a way to reconnect with all of the people who live around us.
We ended it by having my daughter make everyone the 4th of July parfaits she learned to make at her little chef's class and then we took them to the top of the hill and enjoyed the town's fireworks. They were the best yet.
I have a gorgeous, devoted husband, a daughter who won the gentic lottery and tests 2 years ahead of her class, and a community that is always listed in the top five in the country. The time for sadness is over. The time for grateful is now.

Postscript! I just read that not only are our local schools some of the best in the country...our local library just rated NUMBER ONE in the country. That lil ole place? LOVESIT!