Red, White, and Blue (Thunder)

Our 4th of July started with a flag raising ceremony at our church. Although it was fairly early, many people came decked out in their best holiday garb. The Boy Scouts presented the colors and then we had a nice little program with music and some short talks followed by breakfast. Best of all, several of the older folks who had served in the military wore their uniforms. Here's a picture of a couple of them when asked to stand. Thank you to them for their service and of course, thank you to my brother Hal who is currently serving in the Army, stationed in Germany. Your sacrifices deserve more than just one day of recognition!

Later that day we went over to the Bellevue Downtown Park for their big celebration. We went early to enjoy the festivities and stake out a big spot close to the action. Right at 4:00 pm we enjoyed a performance by Blue Thunder, which is the Seahawks Drum Line (which I didn't even know exists). It was a really fun performance and a great way to start the evening. Click on the video below if you want to see one of their numbers.

All afternoon we just enjoyed the various live bands, played some Rack-O on our blanket, had some snacks and walked around to check out some of the booths. The weather cooperated well and it was a nice relaxing afternoon. Later on, several of our friends joined us for some of the live music including the Bellevue Philharmonic Symphony, and fireworks. The Philharmonic played during the fireworks show and the patriotic soundtrack makes the fireworks even more spectacular! Bellevue did a great job with the whole celebration and best of all, as everyone trudged back to their cars to wait in traffic, Paul and I walked the one block to our condo and were home in about 10 minutes! All in all it was a great 4th! Hope yours was great too!