The emotion is raw, but the hotdogs are cooked!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

We had a great day yesterday as we celebrated the Fourth. It was announced about a week ago that President Bush would attend the naturalization ceremony at Monticello - the home of Thomas Jefferson. It was a tough ticket to get, but fortune shined down upon us. One thousand general admission tickets were available to the public and the line to get those tickets started well before I awoke on Wed morning. But, I thought I would drive by the visitors center on the way to work to check it out. My radio was on and they were interviewing people in the crowd. 6th in line was one of my attendings - who had the intention of getting only two of her four available tickets. I was able to flag her down and convince her that she should get me the other two. How often do you get a chance to see the President of the United States and hear him speak - unless you have a fortune to boot.

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Claire was just elated for her first ride on the bus. It sure was an early morning for the whole family. Every time we have to wake her up, she always seems so shocked and confused. She was very serious as she prepared for the president's address.

Claire contemplates the stars and the stripes. Obviously she will never remember this event, but it was so great to be there as a family to celebrate the birth of our country and the see the newest citizens take the oath.

Love being together as a family

You've seen them in the movies - and we saw the snipers in real life.

The entire morning I kept singing to Claire - duh, duh, duh-duh, duh, du-duh, du-duh, du-duh, duh. Regardless of your views of the current president, it is quite a sight to see him make an entrance.

Jefferson's home is a great place to visit on any day, but yesterday was quite a display. It was very well put together and an experience we will always remember.

Unfortunately President Bush's address was not without interruption. There were multiple outbursts of protest regarding the President's policies. Although not unexpected, it was in very poor form and a big distraction from the ceremony. There is a time and place to disagree, but this was definitely not that venue. Fools and Fanatics!!!

The swearing in of the new citizens by the judge. After the repeating of the oath, they were given the chance to get up and express there feelings. It was moving to hear of their love for the country and their hopes and dreams of success. At the end of the ceremony, Hill defined it as one of the top ten events in her life. It was very cool.

Claire was a champ. About midway through the ceremony, she got ahold of an apple core and just would not let go. She chomped and chomped and chomped for the rest of the ceremony. We tried to pull it from her hands when she fell asleep, but she would have nothing to do with it. As we waited for the bus at the end of the ceremony, she entertained the crowds with her big smile, her babbling, and her apple core.

After waiting for the bus for quite awhile (among the common folk), as President Bush and others made their way off the mountain, we finally made it home. Claire was exhausted. So were we. But, we were able to enjoy the national hot dog eating contest and see Joey Chestnut take down Kobyashi in a sudden death eat off. After taking down nearly 50 dogs each, it was the first one to finish off the next five. Pretty intense. We will make it a fourth of july family tradition.

In the afternoon, we were invited to the Old Trail Picnic and boy did it not disappoint. Crozet, Virginia is one of the most beautiful places we know. Claire was at her best during the party. Just a few pictures with the lush Virginia green with the Blue Ridge mountains in the background.

Happy Fourth of July to everyone. We love and miss you all. God bless the U.S.A.!!!