July 4th 2012

I'm so thankful that, even though we are far away from home, we can still be part of an American community.  I'm especially thankful for that on special days like the 4th of July.  I think because we are so far away from home the military really tries to put on a nice celebration to help us all not feel so homesick.  Of course Sam is required to work these "special" days, but at least we could hang out with him some of the day. 

Last year Elly was really interested in riding the horses, but when the opportunity presented itself she decided she didn't want to.  This year she kept talking about the horses after she rode the pony at Traumland.  I thought there was a better chance of her getting on this time since she had already experienced it with a smaller horse.  So, we waited in line.  We waited and waited and waited....

Close to an hour later Elly finally got her chance to ride a horse and she did not disappoint.  She was so tickled about it that she just kept giggling and had the cutest smile on her face.  I so love seeing her happy!

After the horse ride we met up with friends.  Elly and Sydney are best of friends and I love to watch them greet each other.  They just hug and seem to happy to see each other again.  So sweet!

Sam's duty station for the day was at the carousel, so Elly ended up riding that about 30 times.  She had a blast and was able to be with Daddy.  Best of both worlds for her.

After Sam got off work we got something to eat and then just sat around with friends and visited until it was time for the fireworks.  There was a thunder storm threatening to end it all.  We were able to see the fireworks, but immediately afterward there were announcements over the loudspeakers telling everyone to clear the field as quickly as possible.  Thankfully, we had fun and the storm waited until we got home to hit.

Happy 4th of July from Germany!!