4th of July!

I never wrote about our 4th of July! My mom, Joel and Emily were still in town, so we decided to all go to the Independence Day celebration on post! Asa, Marley, and I had never really been to any sort of celebration on post, so I didn't really know what to expect. But, it was fantastic! They had a huge kids area with tons of things to play in, lawnmower races, live music, tons of food, and tons of people! The first step after my mom bought Emily and Marley wrist bands for the kids' area, was the train ride. I didn't know how Marley was going to feel about the blow-up obstacle courses and bounce houses, but I thought for sure she would love the train. However, as soon as they started to pull away from the rest of us, Marley started crying! Luckily, Emily distracted her and got her smiling again for the rest of the train ride!
Next were the obstacle courses. As I said, I was nervous that they would get half way in and then Marley would freak or something. But she surprised me and absolutely loved every thing they went in!
And she was great at it! She even got so good at the toddler obstacle course, that she went all by herself! I can't even explain what a big deal that was. She is a pretty shy little girl, nervous about new things and new people. So, for her to climb all the way through an obstacle course and end with a smiling face made me want to smile and cry at the same time. She is really growing up and becoming a little girl!

She was exhausted by dinner time, and I'm sure Emily was too! But we had to see the lawnmower races before we left.
We all left with smiles and good memories from all the fun we had at the festival. It was a blast, and I loved being there with other Army families; it felt like we were around people like us. We don't have anything like that in Nacogdoches, where there are so many kids activities and and Marley can just play and play.

That evening, we went back home and had a dinner of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and watermelon on the porch for dessert. A perfect 4th of July meal!
Asa and Emily went back on post later for the fireworks show, and then came home and gave us our own show. We ended the night making s'mores around the fire, playing Clue, and just enjoying everyone being there together.

My mom, Joel, and Emily left the next morning, after an early breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We were all sad to part ways, but hopefully we will be in Nacogdoches next month for Marley's birthday!