Matt and I took the kids on a little family vacation to Alabama.  We rented a lake house on Lewis Smith Lake and boy was it beautiful.  I had never been to Alabama, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Come to find out it looks a lot like Georgia but without all the billboards. 

My parents came over on July 4th to eat ribs and hang out.  The kids rode bikes and drew pictures with sidewalk chalk.  The boys even did a little bit of boxing with the new gloves Matt bought for them.  Now tell me, what's more American than that?  After dinner we strolled downtown to watch the fireworks.  The blind mosquitoes were out in full force.  I was afraid to speak for fear that I might inhale a few of them.  One or two dive bombed my eyeballs, but I survived another riverfront fireworks display and so the tradition continues.