My children provided the fireworks.

We all pitched in for lunch.

This guy just returned from an 8,000 mile motorcycle trip to the Arctic Ocean. (No wonder he looks tired!)

The other brother (and his lovely wife, not in this photo), traveled from Michigan to share the day with us!

The first ones here got (almost) all the berries!

Uncle Douglas made cool toys on his 3D printer.

Everyone enjoys flashes, bangs and smoke.

The grand finale: “Run, Boopa! Run!”

I missed it all due to comforting the Wee Grand, who didn’t like the noise. She needed a nap and I needed to have time holding her.

We celebrated a birthday (early).

And then marveled at the huge storm that blew in to water our gardens.

We, individually and collectively, are rich beyond measure. We work this land for fun and it nourishes us and our family. We care (in a very physical way) for our neighbors and community. Our neighbors and community care for us. I still work in the federal court system, trying to keep processes and outcomes fair. The system doesn’t always work, but it works mostly. Because I have spent so much time in jails and prisons (as a visitor, not an inmate) I value physical freedom fiercely. Because I have been a witness to so much pain, suffering and abuse, I appreciate emotional freedom intensely. Because I have lived in foreign lands, I recognize political freedom as precious. This country is a work in progress, and it depends on us all to progress. We celebrate because we have so much to be thankful for, and then we get back to work.