In case you haven’t heard yet, I!!! LOVE!!! THE!!! FOURTH!!! OF!!! JULY!!!!! (YES THAT MUCH!) And I am SO excited that I get to celebrate this amazing holiday all week long this year!

Every summer growing up, I spent the fourth out in Missouri or Colorado at Kanakuk. It was the best time, with the best of friends, in the best place. I have so many incredible memories from those years! After high school, I was worried that this fun summer holiday would lose its magic. Thankfully, with weekends spent out at Lake Cypress Springs, it didn’t! While the Fourth of July of course looks different now, it’s just as celebratory, filled with family and of course good food and fireworks!

We go out to our house at Lake Cypress Springs as often as we can. It’s been so long since my family bought it that I don’t really remember a time when we weren’t lake people! Over the summer holiday weekends, my dad and brother-in-laws used to make it a tradition of going out to the fireworks stands and buying a ton of stuff to shoot off our homemade ramp on the dock over the water. With all of the little kids that we’ve added to the fam, we’ve ditched it for safety, but have picked up a few other traditions along the way! For starters, we go all out on “tacky” Fourth of July gear – headbands, stars and stripes, Old Navy, and anything red, white, and blue.

My personal traditions include getting up to slalom ski at least once a year, and climbing back into the boat without the help of the ladder. As long as I can check both of those boxes, I’m good to go! Both happened this year, thank goodness! I did almost forget how to get up on the ski, but the third time was the charm and I had a good run through a good part of the lake on Friday morning. We also tried to get my 7 year old nephew, Harrison, up on the skis for the first time this year. He had a few awesome attempts and got SO close! I think he’ll be standing up the next time!

I always loved the fourth because of the activities and summertime, but this year, for the first time, I think I started to feel the weight of what my freedom has cost to so many lives and families. I teared up on my way home seeing all of the American flags waving in the sky because I know that I still can’t even grasp half of how blessed I am to not only live in America, but to be an American and experience the freedom and pride of all that comes with living in this great country. I believe in the United States, the constitution, and the American dream, and it is a privilege to get to call the USA home.

If you need me, I’ll be listening to Toby Keith and my “Merica” playlist on spotify on repeat the rest of the week! 🙂

Happy Fourth of July!

The Fosters, Pattersons, and Castelans