Independence Day in D.C.

I really wanted to watch fireworks in our Nation's Capitol.  I thought it would be a beautiful backdrop and perfect surroundings for Independence Day.  Kyle was just tagging along with me.  We decided to park near the Pentagon (which is probably 4 miles from the Mall).  Kyle thought we were going to watch from the Virginia side and I thought we were going into D.C. by the monuments.  We had a little misunderstanding, so we walked a LOT! We did what my dad would call our "Disneyland Walk", where we do a speed walk to get to our destination.  We ended up sitting in front of The Lincoln Memorial and we were facing the Washington Monument.  There were THOUSANDS of people!  It was a sight to see!  We sat in front of the Lincoln Memorial and waited for the spectacular firework show to begin!  It was an unbelievable show and we were glad we made the trek in to witness Independence Day in probably the best place to be :) Here are some pictures and then the video is of the finale! We were so close we could hear the thumping of the booms in our chest! It was an experience we won't forget!  After the show we decided to run back to our car since we had a ways to go. Luckily I wore my workout clothes and Kyle had running shoes on.  We probably ran about 2 miles and walked 2 miles.  I was definitely not used to running outside though! I'm used to running on a treadmill in an air conditioned building.  Kyle has acclimated a little more than I have to this humidity!  Needless to say, I was a little sweaty by the time we reached our car :)

All the people in front of The Lincoln Memorial!

Pretty Fireworks!

AMAZING!

Thunderstorm in the South

On Sunday night around 8:30, Kyle and I were sitting at home relaxing when we heard thunder start.  We started seeing lightning as well.  We decided to head outside to the top of a hill outside our back porch to watch and take in a Southern storm.  Then...it started raining.  I ran inside.  Kyle took his time.  Kyle thought it would be fun to stand in the downpour of rain! Kyle described it as a "hurricane" because of the intense downpour of rain and intense wind! Kyle stood outside and within seconds he looked like he jumped into a pool!  It was a fun experience and I cannot describe just how loud the thunder was.  We tried to video tape with my camera., it's not the best footage.  I had to upload it to YouTube and it is a lot darker than through my computer. But you can still hear the thunder.  This video is about 1 minute and 30 seconds long. You can see the lightning and hear the thunder, but the loudest thunder is right after the 1 minute and 5 second mark. Wish you were here to actually hear the booming thunder!  It has woken us up from a dead sleep in the middle of the night a few times!  Kinda scary :)