Fun on the Fourth

This year, I thought we’d try something different for the Fourth of July. We went to a local historic park for their “Old Fashioned July 4 Celebration.” We’d been there earlier this year, but it was nothing like what we experienced today. As we walked in we met Thomas Jefferson and Uncle Sam. Marina had her picture with each of them. Then we headed into the Civil War camp. It had tents set up just as Civil War soldiers would have had them. There were many men in blue Union uniforms demonstrating bayonet training and explaining how the soldiers lived. There was a flute player in uniform who let the kids beat the drum as she played. Marina loved that. She also got to meet Abraham Lincoln.

We had a chance to ride a stagecoach. Marina couldn’t wait to try that. It was a bit of a wait, but Marina was so excited during the ride. We stopped for lunch, hamburgers and hot dogs. After we ate, we attended an Abolitionist Rally. Marina was a bit bored through it, but she was patient. After the rally, we checked out the kids games area. There Marina panned for gold. Once she found some she got pretty excited about looking for more. We also saw a weaving presentation. Marina carded wool, spun it into thread and then used a machine to weave it. She really loved the weaving part. They had several craft stations where Marina made sand art and a pinwheel. 
 
At intermission of the orchestra music, there was a reading of the Declaration of Independence. People in the crowd were invited to read the articles. Marina wanted to participate, so she went and read a short paragraph. She wasn’t at all nervous and read very well considering the difficult words.
 
We went on another wagon ride and Marina panned for gold again before we headed out. She chatted with Abraham Lincoln for a while, showing him some of the crafts she made.  She hugged Uncle Sam just before we left.
 
We spent a little time at home before heading over to Aunt Ann’s for a barbecue. They had rented a bounce house, so Marina spent most of the time in there. It had a huge slide which she liked to bounce down. She came inside to eat a hamburger and some vegetables before heading out again. Near dusk Cameron brought out some ”poppers.” Due to the high fire danger, no fireworks were allowed. So the kids made a mess with the noisemakers and streamers. Then they all helped clean it up.

When we left, both Marina and I were tired. We’d done a lot to celebrate America’s birthday.