4th of July Parade

My goodness, it has been a while! The Bee family apologizes for the lapse in service, heh. We've been enjoying the hot Oklahoma summer...from the comfort of our air-conditioned living room. However, we have taken tons of photos during the last six weeks, and now I am looking at all of my image folders, wondering how to get all of these pictures up before 2010. Well, one at a time, I guess!

So, to herald the end of the break, here our pictures from the 4th of July parade this morning. The Bee family went with our neighbors, Emily, Addie and David. Emily decked out their wagon in a dazzling array of red, white and blue streamers, stars and bows. Cutest wagon, ever! David pulled the girls, who enjoyed the ride, pausing briefly every once and a while to play tug-of-war with their flags.

The parade started in our neighborhood on post, then proceeded to McNair Hall, where the Army was set up for a 50-gun salute to represent the 50 states. The 77th Regiment Army Band played sterling renditions of America the Beautiful, God Bless America and the Star-Spangled Banner. Each state was recognized with a blast from the Howitzer, which was moving but also alarming to babies within a two-mile radius. The Baby Bee reached her limit by the about the 25th state and started to cry.

After the salute, the base's commanding general, Major General Vangjel, gave a speech. Unfortunately, one of the 50 flagbearers passed out during his speech. Emma's Dad and several of the other soldiers said this was because the soldier was locking his knees while standing at attention for so long, which causes poor circulation. The 90-degree heat probably didn't help, either. I've never heard of or seen such a thing before! Poor guy.

When the festivities were over, we all headed back home to the escape from the heat and gear up for a block barbecue this afternoon and fireworks in the evening. Thanks for the wonderful parade, Fort Sill! Happy Birthday, America!