Hooray for the red, white, & blue

I love the fourth of July. In fact, I love the whole weekend.

Today we'll be doing yard work. We need to make tracks to get this house ready to sell!

Tomorrow is the really exciting day. After church we'll come home, load up the van, and head for Conner Prairie Farm. We'll be among the first two or three groups waiting at the gate when they open for the Indianapolis Symphony's Patriotic Pops Concert. This is our longest standing family tradition. We have attended every summer since 1986 with only one exception in 1990 when I was eight months pregnant and 400 miles away.

My mom will bring her fried chicken and we'll spread out across the blankets in the perfect spot that Colin and I and our kids arrived ahead of the crowd to stake out. We'll feast on fried chicken, bing cherries and grapes, cheese and crackers, veggies, cookies and brownies, and if we're lucky, my sister-in-law Kim's chocolate covered strawberries. And we'll drink plenty of wine.

When the music starts even my three year old twin nephews and two and five year old nieces will be completely absorbed. In fact, many years our little children behave better during the music than many of the adults surrounding us. Because the program varies little from year to year we can all look forward to certain favorites. Symphony on the Prairie is certainly a highlight of our summer!

Another highlight happens Tuesday when we head to Colin's parents. Sean and Anne will be making their annual visit from Australia. We all look forward to their visit tremendously, and it's always too short.