the fourth in dc

I've always been a big fan of the fourth of July. Celebrating the 'birthday' of my country is a special time and I feel like it brings the country together in a time where patriotism and unity seems to be fleeting. I know I feel more patriotic and it gives me a time to reflect upon the love I have for this country. I am grateful to have the freedoms I do and the ability to have an opinion and power to express them.

This year my brother, Matt, came into town for an interview and stayed for the weekend! On Saturday we went to the Capitol Fourth dress rehearsal concert with my roommate, Kristina...

We joined thousands of people on the steps and lawn of the Capitol building to watch performers like David Archuletta, Reba McEntire, and Lang Lang

The best part of the night was seeing this girl! We all grew up together in Ohio (seriously, since we were babies) and we don't see enough of each other anymore. Whenever we get together its like we are in high school again!

Then on Sunday, I had the Hunters over to watch the DC fireworks from my balcony. It turned out that we couldn't quite lean over far enough to see them, but we did get QUITE the show still. Across the horizion, we were able to see the local Virginia, DC, and Maryland fireworks shows for 2.5 hours straight. For as far as we could see, there were fireworks lighting up the sky. We estimated that we saw at least 3o shows simultaneously. We couldn't even tell where one ended and where another began!

All in all, it was a great first DC fourth for me.

When you're surrounded by friends and family, it's hard not to be happy :)