July 4th

July 4th weekend, 2009. Will prove to be one of the most fun, most memorable, weekends for me! It also marked a very important turning point in my life as a single woman now 2 years after my ex-husband left.Event #1 - July 3rd at the celebration in Mason, Ohio. Got to hear Huey Lewis and the News, spend time getting reacquainted with old friends from Princeton Pike pre-Lee days, meet and make some new friends, hang out with my cousins Tom and Melissa and their girls, meet up with some friends from MN and Real Life Church (unexpected and pleasant surprise!), see some great fireworks, and just start to realize something a bit special about a new friend...

The bad part: I lost Noah in the crowd for about 15 minutes. I was a bit panicked at first, but shook myself and got the police right away. They already had him by the time I went to them. Ugh. He's just too independent for his own good...

This is my second time seeing/hearing Huey. He's just the same each time...even after 20+ years...

Event #3 - The City of Hamilton parade on July 4th and a visit to the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial. Not too bad. Several bands, Shriner's in their little cars, horses, Veterans, some creative floats...all it was missing, really, was an Uncle Sam on stilts... :)
Here is a cute shot of Noah walking to the parade with Grandma and Grandpa.

No parade is complete without bagpipers... men in any other skirts would not be nearly as sexy!

This is a Native American Drumming group. We saw them last year at River Days. It was cool.

2 of the bands in the parade: the rivals - Hamilton "Big Blue" and the Fairfield Indians

"When Fairfield's red, white, warriors fall in line, we're gonna win, win, win, another time..."

I just love the Shriner's...

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial has stood along the banks of the river for as long as I can remember and I've never bothered to go in until now. Had uniforms, weapons, and other paraphernalia. It's a nice little museum. And right next to it is one of the original pioneer houses from "Ft. Hamilton". My boys could not believe that kids back then actually entertained themselves without TV or toys that needed batteries. :)

The last events of the weekend was a Sunday morning picnic at our church. That was a lot of fun and quite an adventure for reasons I'll not share here...but those in the know will remember with a little chuckle! ;) (especially Tom Pate who reveled in the "I told you so's!") Sunday evening was a community gathering at Princeton Pike with music, inflatables, a car show, food, and fireworks. I have to say, they did a very nice job in spite of the crowd and the long wait to get parked.

All in all, it was a fun filled weekend. I don't remember packing quite so much into one weekend in a loooooooonnnnng time. But it was one of the reasons this summer has been so wonderful and will hold a lot of great memories for me and the boys.

Oh yeah...that and the fact that we kicked some British butt about 230 years ago and sent the king packing... :)

A special "thank you" to Steve W. for allowing me the use of his pictures from Mason. He has a better camera and is a much better photographer than I! :)