Land of The Free.....and Fun

The Thornton Clan made the trek down South this extended weekend to visit Grandma and Uncle Jim, and all of us had a wonderful time. Like usual, time flew by and it was over too quickly. There is just never enough time.

Lori worked a call shift in the ER on Wednesday night, and I must say, for someone that had absolutely zero sleep during the night, she did a fantastic job helping me get everything ready to go on Thursday morning. I really do not know how she does it. Keep me awake for 30 straight hours, including 14 of those spent working my rear off, and I would be a very unpleasant person to be around. Lori on the other hand, is always amicable to the "end". The "end" in this case meant.....until she fell asleep in the passenger's seat during mid sentence 2 minutes after getting on the road. Hey, she earned it.

The trip down was uneventful and quick, and we arrived at Grandma's house about 4:00pm. We spent the rest of the day visiting with Grandma, and we all watched the movie that Aidan has been begging to see. Dum Da Dum Dum.....Dum Da Dum.........Dum Da Dum Dum.....Dum Da Dum Dum Dum.....yep that's right.....Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ever since he got the Lego Indiana Jones video game for his PSP, he has been begging to watch the actual movies that his game is based on. The game actually covers Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade. While he would have like to see them all, we felt like the last two were a little too mature for his viewing, and he would have to wait until he was a bit older to see them. He enjoyed watching the "real" Indiana on the screen, and I got a kick out of seeing it again myself. Has it really been 27 years since it's release? Geesh that's scary.

Friday morning arrived and all of us were excited about celebrating our Nation's Birthday. We spent the day playing, and I even got the chance to go exploring with Aidan. I showed him a few of the places where me and my friends spent most of our time growing up. Unfortunately most of my old stomping ground that used to be untamed wilderness is now developed with nice fancy houses and big asphalt roads. The Arrowhead pits, frog ponds and dirt trails are now just distant memories. Even so, Aidan still enjoyed hearing about and seeing things from "way back" when dad was a kid. Grrrrrrrrr.

Friday night arrived and that meant it was time to go party! So me and Lori, both boys, and Grandma piled into the CX-9 and drove across town to the Fourth of July celebration. ( We would have like for Uncle Jim to have joined us, but unfortunately he had to work). We arrived in plenty of time to get set up in a prime watching spot. Here is a picture Grandma snapped just after we got situated.

The band started things off with the National Anthem, and while the rest of us stood and sang, Christopher was taking a break and catching a few Zzzz's. This peaceful somber did not however prevent him from showing his patriotism and respect by placing his right hand over his heart during Mr. Key's most famous song. The band started playing about 8:00pm, and we all enjoyed the music. Christopher had woken up by this time, and a rested boy plus a band playing can only mean one thing. DANCE TIME BABY!
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As the band started winding down, Lori snapped a quick picture of the Thornton Men.

The fireworks started at approximately 9:30pm and we figured that Christopher would have long since succumbed to a deserved night of peaceful somber. We figured wrong, and both he and Aidan gazed with wonderment as the night sky was illuminated with pyrotechnic marvels.

The fireworks lasted about 30 minutes and all of us had a great time. We made the trek back to the car, and by 10:30pm we are back at Grandma's house. By that time Uncle Jim had gotten off work and was waiting at the house for our arrival. Grandma, the boys and Lori were beat and headed off to bed, and Jim and I stayed up a few more hours and visited.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with lots of playing outside and eating good food. Jim and I set up a small pool for the boys to play in, and with Mom an unexpected participant, good times were had by all.

I will leave you with one last image. Here is Aidan as he is Channeling his inner Edvard Munch. It must be all the "screaming" that Christopher has been doing that inspired him. All we need is a bridge, and some vivid colors in the background, and we have another masterpiece on our hands. Our own little Expressionist.

William