Happy 4th of July!

We had another successful 4th of July here at the house. No one was able to make it this year so we did it solo but we did the same thing we do every year. We made BBQ ribs with all that goes along with them and Denise made her signature 4th of July desert which was awesome as usual. The only bad thing about this year is that Denise was taking charge of lighting everything and tried to burn her thumb off (okay, so it wasn't like falling off, but it does hurt and after a couple of hours and she is still in pain). Other than that the kids had a great time running around like maniacs in the front yard. I also used our camp fire pit to finish off the ribs and that worked out pretty good (minus the smoke though).

One pleasant surprise of the evening was the OUTSTANDING fireworks display put on by the city. If you have been reading this blog for a while then you know we have great view from our front yard of the city firework display. We both think this was the best display that we have seen since we lived here. They really went all out and it was an excellent show. I didn't really set out to take photographs of the fireworks - and there was three times where I thought "I should get my gear out with the tripod and take some fireworks shots" but I didn't because I figured it would end soon - but it kept on going. It was REALLY great!

Earlier in the day I drove in to town to check out the Guitar Center 4th of July "The List" sale. As it turned out there wasn't anything on "The List" that I wanted but I did get to spend some time checking out the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and Blues Junior amplifiers. I probably spent almost an hour playing with them. I think when I decide to by a "real" amp I am going to get one of those Deluxe ones - they are pretty darn cool and some freakin' awesome. I also - by a fluke - ran across a vintage Fender tweed case (Denise think's it is ugly) that I got for under $100 so I was REALLY happy with that. It has a few marks on it - but those cases are kind of expensive generally and I would put marks in it anyway - so I think I scored on that one! I also picked up the FIRST AND ONLY version of Rock Band that I have seen for the XBox 360. Probably didn't need to spend the money on it - but it is something that everyone can play and I think it will be cool. We shall see!