Photos from community celebration, fireworks

I sure wish my pictures of the fireworks would have come out better. The battery was running low on the camera and no matter how much I would prepare for that perfect shot, it just never happened to turn out like I wished. All fizzle and no flare, but oh well...action shots are not my specialty and add to that my dislike for the loud noises associated with fireworks which might explain the lack of good photos. The fireworks display was wonderful this year which really says a lot because year after year, this display is rumored to be the best one in Alaska. Partly because it's the only area of Alaska that allows fireworks stands and most of the actual celebration is funded from tax monies derived from the fireworks stands themselves. However, this year it was questionable whether or not the fireworks display would match those shows in the past years because of the unexpected death last year of the primary supplier of the fireworks for the celebration. His unexpected death left the remaining fireworks stands all under the same ownership and offered no competition to the big business of fireworks dealers. Happily so, they did not cut back on the quality of the fireworks display even after solidifying a statewide monopoly on their products.

And the festival itself was very enjoyable. I wish we'd have had the time to join in all the free things. We missed out on the bounce house because they were closing right as we got there, the pony rides, and the facepainting. The kids did get to go for a horse-drawn buggy ride which they thoroughly enjoyed. Oh and they got to pet a few of the animals -- sheep, goats, and a miniature horse. Fabian just loves horses so he was disappointed he didn't get to ride the horse. We did eat heartily to the free bar-b-q and I'm proud to say we were the only family I really saw that didn't load our plates with more than one sandwich, one bag of chips, one soda, and one ice cream cone apiece. It was sad to see so many others hoarding food in such an unmannerly way. So very, very sad to watch children take on the inconsiderate actions of their parents and think nothing of it. My kids were growing halos almost instantly amongst that crowd. Over and over I was reminded how much the Alaskan people have really changed in such a short timeframe. Sure you've got some great people here in Alaska still, but more and more it is changing. It wasn't always this cut-throat and was once filled with kindness and consideration to strangers. Well, clearly not anymore!!

Fabian also liked the live music. There was a live band playing and Fabian was eye-balling the lead singer lady who even Karen and Marissa remarked on how her cleavage was popped out enormously. My kids...they notice everything!