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What do you mean my Facebook profile is down for site maintenance!? I don't know what this means....

I might be the tiniest bit addicted to Facebook. I put up a status that Alex and I were at the St. Joseph County fair last night and I wanted to see if anyone had anything to say in response. I also wanted to add that a county fair seems to be the single largest collection of white trash, ghetto booty, teenage cleavage and jailbait in the county right now. That may seem to be a cruel thing to say, but it's true.

We went primarily for the food. Nothing feeds a summertime craving like carnie food - elephant ears, funnel cakes, caramel corn, cotton candy and while you're at it, ruin some perfectly healthy veggies for me and dip them in batter and deep fry the vitamins out of them please!! Love fried veggies. Mmm!

We got our elephant ear, and then went to the ticket booth where they were selling 4 tickets for $5. We gasped, unsure of how to proceed. Wristbands made sense, but they were $23 each. Sad to say, we didn't get to go on the ferris wheel, which was our one hope as far as rides go.

We did get the opportunity to go into the exhibit hall for the crafts and other projects, and I was so impressed with the quality and the talent of the kids in our 4-H, but I found myself being disappointed that OUR little town had very, very few entries. Most were from the outlying communities - not many at all from the city. Sad. City kids (and those rich snobs up North of us) could really benefit from 4-H - it is my belief that 4-H is better than forcing them into a sport or team they don't like all summer, or allowing them to stay in the house watching television and playing video games. But hey, who am I to judge? I don't even have children.

The fireworks were wonderful. I love fireworks. My favorites though are the golden-bronze or silver ones that shimmer sparks and embers. It always makes me think of the end of Peter Pan, when Tinker Bell showers Captain Hook's pirate ship with pixie dust to make it fly. I often wonder what America must look like from space on the Fourth of July? I bet it's beautiful.

I have some thoughts about our Nation's Independence Day as well. Weird ones. First of all, I'm no die-hard patriot. It wouldn't be devastating to me to move away from the US if we had to. But I do have a bit of patriotic spirit and I think we should observe and honor the amazing country we live in. But I find it a little disturbing that we honor our country by attending 'giant sales' at retail outlets that force their employees to work on a national holiday. 50 years ago, Independence Day was observed by all; everyone, every business, took the time to honor our founders, our fallen and our faithful. Now, in our post-consumeristic, legalistic society, our companies are so concerned with being open every single day and getting the extra bucks, that there is no honor, no observance. And the more we allow it, the worse it gets. I am never one to predict the future, but I would guess that Independence Day simply becomes another day in the calender, just like Columbus Day or Mother's Day, sometime in the future. I wonder if the banks will even close?

The best part of the evening was when we ran into our friends, Matt and Dana, and their 3 little girls. Bella and Jillian got to ride in the Crazy Mouse - some kind of hybrid between the teacup ride at Disney and a roller coaster, and Kailee, being only 3, had to sit out. And she was very upset about it, which was made worse by the fact that she was exhausted beyond measure. She let me carry her for a bit, but she's almost getting too big for me. She is definitely heavier than the other two girls were at her age. And everytime Mommy or Daddy came close, she would turn her face away and say "NO". Mad, cuz she couldn't go on any of the big kid rides. So Alex picked her up, MY ALEX!, and snuggled with her and carried her around for awhile. And the wild beast was soothed. Kailee loves Alex. We don't know why, but she does. And I think he likes her too. :) He was definitely working up his 'daddy muscles' last night. I may be allowed to have a baby yet!

Our day ended late, and happy, with horse poo on our shoes and the smell of carnie food on our clothing. This morning we are laying around, lazy for a little while, but I'm on my way out to get the grass mowed before it gets too hot. Besides, our jerk neighbors have made it quite clear that they've had it with our grass being the longest on the block. But you already know my feeling about our next door neighbors.... No? Let's just put it in short form - "Keeping Up With The Joneses" is their favorite game. And they've been doing it for so long that they don't know how to NOT compete with a young couple working on their first house.

Anyway, please be blessed, safe, careful and happy on this Independence Day. Take time to enjoy the life we have here in America - it's wonderful and there is no other place like it. Try not to lose any fingers, toes, eyebrows or other important limbs with firecrackers. Jump in the lake and love it. Hug a family member and honor the fallen heroes. That is all. :)