Celebrating Independence Day 2020

We weren't really planning to do much on July 4th this year...until we decided to invite Jane and Ken to come celebrate it with us. That was a good decision on our part. I'm glad they were able to get permission from their brand new Mission President (of about one week) to leave the mission boundary and come to Lancaster. They arrived on the evening of July 3rd.

The next morning, we went to Apollo Park before it got too hot. The Airds had never been there before, so it was a new experience for them. We all enjoyed our time together there. We took our two bicycles and traded off using them. I, of course, took my scooter. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to make it around the whole lake.

After the park, we came back to our house, had a light lunch, and then went swimming. (I forgot to take pictures of us swimming. Oh well.) All four of us were underprotected from the sun and got sunburned. I think Jane & Ken got it the worst, but Alan looked pretty sore as well.

This was our all American dinner. Jane made some delicious bbq ribs (done in the Instant Pot and then broiled for a few minutes with the bbq sauce on them). They were delicious and tender. She also made some garlic mashed potatoes that complimented the ribs. I had it easy. I made the corn-on-the-cob and the dessert.

For dessert we had Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle. Boy, was it good! I had never made trifle before. It's a lot of work, but it was worth is.

We said goodbye to Jane & Ken shortly after dinner as they needed to get back to Riverside. They really made our holiday a lot more special than it would have been.

Our neighbors went all out with their fireworks this year. Maybe being shut inside our homes for so long and unable to really get our lives back to normal drove people to want to do something bigger this year to celebrate our country. Fireworks were going off until after Midnight!

Our country is pretty chaotic right now because of Covid-19 and several uprisings throughout the country, but I'm glad that we could use Independence Day to come together in celebration of our great country. Our country needs more unity. We need to heal from the many negative things that have been going on this year. No year has been quite like 2020 has.

I love my country and I'm grateful for all those (including my father) who fought in the military in order to protect our freedoms. I don't take our freedoms for granted, for they are not guaranteed. In fact, there are some leaders in our country right now who want to limit our freedoms and that doesn't set well with me. 

Our flag represents freedom. God gave us this free land. To me, the flag also symbolizes hard work, patriotism, perseverance, and unity. 

May "Old Glory" continue to fly over our country for many years to come!