July 4th and Neil Diamond!

This year for the July 4th fireworks show, Neil Diamond was the special guest singer coming to play with the Boston Pops. Really, could any combination be more perfect?!! I mean, when he started singing America.... I wasn't the only one that got choked up, the crowds went nuts. In addition, if you know anything at all about Boston Red Sox fans then you'll know that they sing Sweet Caroline at EVERY Red Sox Game, during the 8th inning. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this entire city will scream out the words to Sweet Caroline whenever they feel there's reason to.

Celebrating America's Independence Day with some homemade pancakes, Vince's favorite!


Some of our friends had the greatest idea in the world!..... to go to the Esplanade the day before the show and watch the dress rehearsal, which was pretty much what you'd think... a complete run down of the show including commentaries, singing, and even shooting the cannons off during the 1812 overture. We also got an extra dose of Neil when he had to sing America twice due to some sort of technical glitch that went on during the first song. Awesome! The crowds were pretty huge, but not as bad as the actual day. Sorry to those that don't share the same enthusiasm as I do for Neil Diamond!! I have to blame it on my mom for her years of playing her Neil Diamond records.

My mom made Vince this special July 4th vest to wear at the celebrations, complete with American Flag buttons

Thanks to Karen, Cesar, and Lauren to getting there early to claim a good spot! We had a clear view of the stage

playing Uno before the show

A clear and quiet sky the night before the fireworks

Day Two: setting up on the Cambridge side to hang out and wait for the fireworks. I wasn't very organized about any of our outings this weekend. I didn't grab any blankets or anything to sit on.... luckily we ran into Mike's coworker friend Kevin, who goes early and claims a big spot on the grass. Beth-Ann and Jason met up with us too! Here we are at around 7pm, counting down to fireworks at 10:30.

Vince held his own for a good amount of time, finally falling asleep around 9:30... right before a small display of fireworks went off just to wet our palate. He had fallen asleep in my arms, and when they went off he woke up wide eyed and looked up at the sky and stared curiously. We were wondering if he'd be afraid, but he did so well! When the main display started we held him and he just watched in wonder, even starting to bop along with the music at one point. No crying for him! He's our brave little man. He's never been scared of loud noises in general, and always comes crawling full steam ahead towards the vacuum when I run it, or when dogs bark loudly

Vince and Dad look up at the show

That's Vince's furry little head glowing in the right hand side of the picture, guess I was too close

I'm not sure how many more July 4th shows we'll be able to make in Boston, but we'll see. We're still moving forward with a house south of Boston.... but after the first house fall through I don't hold my breath anymore.

Ok, only one week of work and then we have vacation for a week! Happy July 4th everyone!