Independence Day

TNT TRADITION: In what has become a July 4 tradition for us, last night we went and stashed a car on the east bank of Queen Anne hill overlooking Lake Union, ground zero for the Fourth fireworks show. We do that, because as the day turns to twilight, parking on QA becomes problematic. And so, before the show, we drive to QA and park blocks away from the east bank, but having a getaway rig there for post-show makes the egress much more pleasant.


This morning, around 6 a.m. Christian completed Part 2 of the pre-show plan - he went and staked our viewing spot claim with lawn chairs, decorated with the stars and stripes.


We headed over to the hill about 8:30 p.m. and parked about five blocks away from our viewing spot. Fortunately, our chairs were still there. :)


And so, we sat, killing time. The kids read, played the Nintendo DS, messed around with the Kindle, snacked and chatted. About 10:10, the pyrotechnics began.

 

 

 

SWEET REPRISE: Come Tuesday, CJ was rather horrified to realize that we had gotten rid of every last firework/rocket/etc. cookie we made last weekend, so I promised him we could make some more for his own consumption. This morning, I made good on that promise. However, instead of the work and mess that comes with using piped on royal icing, we just went with white marshmallow fondant. Plus, I figured the kids would have fun coloring them and giving them faces.

HISTORY LESSON: We spent some time this afternoon learning (or re-learning) what the Fourth of July is all about. We watched three videos on the History Channel's Web site. One was a history of the Fourth of July, another was about the Declaration of Independence, and the third one was about Jefferson authoring the Declaration of Independence. 

Then, we hopped to BrainPOP, and found "The Declaration of Independence" was their featured video, so we watched that and the kids took a quiz afterward.


Then, I had the kids each write a brief synopsis about what they'd seen and heard. 


Annabelle wrote:

In June, 1776, the Declaration of Independence started being written by Jefferson, and after it was finished it was edited by John Adams and Ben Franklin. The Declaration of Independence was inspired by a phamplet (sic) called Common Sense, which is much like the Declaration. Since the Declaration was made, we now have a free country. We are all free. 

CJ wrote:

Independence day is a holiday. The origin of Independence Day goes like this: In 1776, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson and Robert R. Livingston worked on The Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the first draft. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin made some edits to the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress. And that is how we got the country we live in today, America.

MORE FIREWORKS TO COME: "Fireworks Over Mars: The Spirit of 76 Pyrotechnics," an article from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, reminds us that "one month and a day after celebrating its independence with fireworks exhibitions throughout the country, America will carry its penchant for awe-inspiring aerial pyrotechnic displays to the skies of another world."  


Mars Science Laboratory ("Curiosity") is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet around 10:30 Pac Coast time on Aug. 5. Not that we're excited about it or anything! ;)


Speaking of Mars, I keep forgetting to post a pic of the super sized "thank you" I got from the school where I presented an MSL 'lecture' on Feb. 14. It was about a 4-by3-foot poster the kids painted and signed. Very cute.

OH AND: Neglected to mention we went to a Mariners' game last night. They damn near got no-hit. In fact, the Orioles' pitcher Chen was PERFECT (no hits, no walks) through 6 and 1/3 innings. Fortunately Casper Wells ruined that with a home run. The Ms managed to battle back and tie the game 4-4 in the 8th, but they lost it on an Os homer in the 9th.


We went to the game primarily because we got free tickets from the United Way of King County (former Mariner Dan Wilson is their campaign co-chair now). And we parked far enough away to get a free spot, so it was a relatively cheap outing. 

We sat in the top row of the stadium, so we could enjoy the sun sparking off Elliot Bay when there was no action on the field.