Two weeks ago I enjoy participating in the Friday Five linkup so much that I’ve decided to join in on the fun again!  DC area bloggers Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia at You Signed Up for What?!, and Mar at Mar on the Run! are the clever bloggers behind the linkup.

FridayFiveLinkup

Each week Courtney, Cynthia, and Mar either suggest a theme for that week’s Friday Five Linkup, or leave it up to individual bloggers to come up with their own Free Friday theme.

One of the rules is for the bloggers choosing to participate to visit the other blogs on the linkup.  The goal of the linkup is to introduce bloggers and readers to other blogs.

Please pop over to Courtney’s, Cynthia’s, and Mar’s blogs to see what their thoughts are on this week’s Friday Five; and to see which other bloggers are joining in on the fun!

 

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This week’s theme is Fourth of July, and I’m going to share with you how I’ve celebrated the Fourth of July over the years…

1.  When I was little, running was actually a huge part of my Fourth of July celebration!  My parents hosted a big family picnic every year and my brother, cousins, and I spent the evening running races around my parents’ house.  Those backyard picnics also introduced me to my first foot-long hot dog!  My Papaw brought them , and we had to use two sticks to roast them over the fire.  I’m not sure who was more excited about them, Papaw or me.  There’s a picture of a seven year-old Deb eating one of those giant dogs, but it’s on a slide at my mom’s house.  One of these days I’ll have to scan it…

2.  I saw my first live large fireworks display when I was about twelve years old.  My uncle and aunt took me with them to my uncle’s company picnic.  He worked for a large company that put on a large fireworks display every year.  We had a big blanket spread out and my cousins and I just lay back and enjoyed the show!

Fireworks
 

3.  Bill and I spent our first Fourth of July together as a married couple snuggled together in jeans and long sleeves and jackets under a blanket on a cold summer night in Utah.  We carried blankets out of our apartment onto the front lawn of our apartment at Utah State University (grad school) and watched the fireworks from the comfort of our blanket fort.  We probably even had hot chocolate!

4.  When our sons were young we started the tradition of celebrating the Fourth of July at Lansdowne Resort.  They hosted big family barbecues the Saturday evening before Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day and we attended them all.  Joseph and Daniel had a blast with their friends while we enjoyed the adult company of their friends’ parents.  There were always plenty of fun activities for the kids and one year they won first place in the golf cart decorating contest!

JosephDanielLansdownGoldCartWinners
 

5.  Just last year, Bill and I started a new Fourth of July tradition when we ran in a local race, the Firecracker 5K honoring our local military members and their families.  We are signed up to run it again this year, and I can’t think of a better way to kick off our nation’s birthday!

Firecracker5KGroup

Happy Fourth of July to you and your family!
And may God bless our beautiful nation!

 

  • Questions:
  • What’s your favorite childhood Fourth of July memory?
  • Do you have any Fourth of July family traditions that you still keep?
  • What are your plans for today?