Happy July 4th!

I would enjoy the 4th a lot more if people would limit their firecracker use to the actual 4th. Unfortunately in Indiana (and this has been true in every neighborhood I've ever lived in), since we have rather lax fireworks laws, people start trying to blow their fingers off around June 30 and continue until July 10th or 11th.

Unfortunately, this causes Max, The World's Greatest Dog, a great deal of stress. It also makes it even more difficult to get the pretty babies to go to bed. (By the way, Mitch, I'm still pissed about being on Eastern time, and just because it's been a couple of days since I've e-mailed you, doesn't mean that I'm adjusting, or that I've forgotten. I'm simply busy. Busy trying to get my kids to bed when it's still full daylight at 9 pm. Thanks, again).

In order to avoid these issues, we're taking Max and the kids to BJ's dad's farm. It's about 45 minutes away from our house, in the middle of nowhere, and while some of the neighbors do fireworks, there is a 400 acre buffer between them and us. Plus, Max will get to run around loose with Rocky the basset hound, which is one of her favorite things to do.

It seems fitting to sit among the amber waves of grain (or at least, they'll be amber waves this fall, right now they're more like emerald seas of grain), and to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over an open fire. We used to do a big cookout at our house, where we invited everyone we could think of and about 1/8 of them actually showed up, but that just got to be too much with one, and then two, small kids. Plus, it didn't get Max away from the stress of the firecrackers. So, we're on the road this afternoon. We'll stop in a small town for their fireworks display, and then head home.

I hope wherever you are, and whatever you're doing, today, that you have a safe and happy 4th of July. And I hope that July 5th finds you with all of your fingers and toes.