Like most holidays, Independence Day means time for something different and unique: we go different places, eat different things, participate in different activities. We often have traditions and recurring events that mark such days. In other words, Independence Day is an opportunity to make memories, and reflect on the sacrifice provided by others to allow our freedoms.

I’d love to see comments with pictures from some of your favorite Independence Day memories. Here are a few of mine:

Family pics from an iconic Fireworks show at the now demolished Victory Stadium in Roanoke, Virginia in 2002. We sat near the little girls in the red and white striped outfits. My daughter and the other little girls danced to the music before the fireworks display. We called the ponytail holder on top of my daughter’s head ‘fireworks.’ And no, my son wasn’t bothered by the fireworks or music. I think he didn’t want to have his picture taken!

Same dress, a year later! We celebrated Independence Day with friends at a Richmond Braves baseball game, with fireworks afterwards. The local baseball team is the oddly named “Flying Squirrels.”

Our son attended camp at Kennedy Space Center in 2006; it just happened to be July 4th week. Amazingly, a scheduled launch was delayed several times in June, until liftoff finally happened on July 4. With the other campers, our son was able to watch from the minimum viewing distance, along with astronaut families! We were able to watch about eight miles from the launch site.

We have other very fond July 4 memories, but it’s hard to take great photos of fireworks. Along with Victory Stadium’s iconic display, some of our favorites were in Cocoa Beach, FL and Siesta Key FL. And our most unusual July 4 was in 2009, when we were in Anchorage, Alaska. We’d just completed a cruise with our family to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Yes, that’s a reindeer, in a July 4 parade through downtown Anchorage!

Share your favorites too! And have a safe holiday!