Fourth of July at Stinson

We spent part of our Independence Day at Stinson Municipal Airport. I had never heard of it before, but visiting that place was pretty dang cool, especially if you're into history, planes, or (like me) both.

The night before, we watched a video clip about the Doolittle Raiders; very interesting story if you don't know about it. They were some super brave heroes.

We were shocked when we arrived to meet the last living member of the Doolittle Raiders: Dick Cole was actually there! We had to take a picture. What an honor!

Three oldest Laney kids with Dick Cole of the Doolittle Raiders

We went to where the music was playing outside and found all kinds of sights! There were couples dressed to the nines (of the 40s) and swing dancing. There was an Uncle Sam guy on stilts. There were displays from back in the day of the first airmen in the sky and many other informational booths. One that caught Isaac's eye was the Civil Air Patrol. He is now obsessed with getting special permission to join early and accelerate his pilot career.

In addition to a collection of vintage planes you could tour, there was face painting and balloons and, best part-- everything was free! The fire trucks got our attention for a good amount of time. Kids love to try all the gear on, tour the truck and learn about the equipment.

Lucky ducks!

How Ellie metamorphosed from a butterfly to a baked potato

This kid is a future hero.

Two things about Noah: he's always helping with Natalie and always making us laugh

This dapper dame enjoyed the festivities, too.

Who let these clowns on the fire truck??

This ain't no circus!

Afterward, we visited 2 of the missions of San Antonio. One of them, Mission Concepcion, was new to us and we really enjoyed touring the building and area there, briefly. It's the most original and the oldest of the San Antonio Missions (over 250 years old!).

It was a great day to be grateful for the land in which we live. Happy Independence Day from all the little Laneys!