Let Freedom Ring!

"Let Freedom Ring! Let the white dove sing! Let the whole world know that today, is the day of reckoning! Let the weak be strong! Let the right be wrong! Blow the storm away let the guilty pay! It's Independence Day!" Independence Day, Martina McBride

So on June 30th Lewis flew to Philadelphia for a brief few days of debauchery with his brother the preacher and his other brother ... the debaucher. :) Just teasing. They went canoeing on the Delware River. I haven't heard everything that happened that trip ... but canoes tipped over, phones were lost ... the general rules of when men are out being men applied.

Myself, on June 29th my friend Amber arrived for a visit from New Mexico. We went shopping, hung out, saw the Toby Keith concert!

And oh yeah ... it was awesome. In the middle of his third song fireworks were going off at the fairgrounds right over our heads. He was fantastic. He played for two straight hours, sang all of my favorite songs and said something that'll probably stick with me forever ... "Never apologize for being patriotic."

That's right Toby! :) He was so awesome. I'm seeing him every time he comes around. I'm also going to start a letter writing campaign for the next seven years ... not telling you what for ... but I'm going to start writing my letters ... :)

Anywho ... after the concert on Sunday night, Monday morning I got up bright and early and took Amber to the airport. Then I went to work. Then a few hours later I got in the car (about 11) and headed up to Pittsburg.

Looking back ... I probably should have slept a little more. But oh well. Anyone that knows me has heard all about the rest of this. Alls well that ends well.

And we had a great time in Pittsburg. Emma is always fun and it amazes me how much information she absorbs and how cognizant children are. They amaze me. The city fireworks were thrilling, and I took a ton of pictures. Blame Lewis and my 2GB memory card. :)

Happy Independence Day everyone! If not for the few and the brave we would not be enjoying the freedom we all possess. In the immortal words of Lee Greenwood ...

"If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I'd worked for all my life,
and I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife,
I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
'cause the flag still stands for freedom ... and they can't take that away!
And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who've died,
who gave that right to me and Igladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today,
'cause there ain't no doubt I love this land ... God Bless the USA!"

More pictures are HERE.