Nutrition Sunday: Eating for Two

Nutrition  Sundays are provided by MaxMuscle Manassas. 

Review: Orphs of the Woodlands

Alright, so it is summer and your kids are always on your phone/their phone/your iPad/their iPad.  Let's be honest here.  If they're going to be on the screen, you may as well have them do something educational with  Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree from Star Toaster. The app is only $1.99 at the iTunes store, which I know because I didn't use my promo code in time for this review so I ended up paying for it.  However, it's a great concept, and I'll tell you why.  First of all, Orphs of the Woodlands is designed to teach reading comprehension and language arts concepts.  They encourage your child by rewarding them for reading with games which earn them points they can use to purchase items for their woodland orphans.   One thing that's really smart about the structure of this game is that your child CANNOT do any "jobs" (this is how they earn stars) until they unlock them by reading a chapter of the interactive chapter book.  That means they absolutely have to do a little reading in order to get to purchase items they want to get. 

This is my daughter's "Stumptown" screen.  She currently has no jobs available and has 9 stars to purchase with.  From this screen she can go to the main page (compass), read (book), earn stars in Stumptown doing jobs (star), or go to her goal page where she can purchase items.  When jobs are available, the 0s will change to 1 or 2 or however many "jobs" are available. Jobs are directly related to the reading your child has just done, for example: 

 In chapter one, you see halfway is a link.  If your child clicks on it, it takes them over to an explanation of compound words and gives them several examples.  When they go over to earn stars, one of the jobs will involve being able to fill in the blanks on compound words to complete them correctly. There are also comprehension jobs that relate to additional information provided on concepts, such as a "weather predictor" or "tail technician".  Some of these reading comprehension extensions are actually read to your child when the click on the link, which is nice especially if it is science-heavy.

Generally speaking, we really like this interactive book and game.  My daughter is happy to play it, and I don't feel guilty handing over my phone when there's reading involved.  We do have a couple of things we didn't like, however. 

Looking at the screen above, you'll notice that when there's a "letter" or "journal" the type can be VERY small.  My daughter didn't like that and thought it made it hard to read.  Also, some of the name choices in the story are questionable for less confident readers- such as Hattah and Eixie.  My daughter really struggled with that one- "The E says its name, right mom, because it's two vowels? But that's a strange name." Now obviously that small type would be fixed by being on an iPad screen, and when she plays on the iPad we don't have that issue, but we don't really take our iPad to go the way we take our iPhone, so that was a downside for me.  The only other issue we had is specific to my daughter who still likes to track with her finger when she reads- not ideal for on-screen reading, but that's a problem we have on lots of programs and devices, and hopefully as she becomes a more confident reader this will stop being a problem.  Luckily on this program, you actually have to click on the arrows to change the page, so she isn't swiping the pages away trying to read, but she did have a tendency to click on more information links when she didn't mean to.  Overall, Savannah liked this product a lot and is happy to read and play on my phone, so I'd give it a thumbs up the next time you need to purchase a few moments of sanity while you wait in line, at the DMV, at sports practice, or any of the 1,000,000 other places we all end up putting our kids in a boredom holding pattern! Happy playing! 

Getaway in Savannah, Georgia (Sunday)

This year all the stars aligned perfectly for us to be able to take a grown-ups only vacation! While my oldest was at scout camp, my younger two did the free day camp at the Marine Corps Museum, and then stayed with my mom for a week.  We met up with my sister-in-law and her husband in Savannah for a few days of fun and random mid-day naps! (Because if I don't have kids with me, I just want to nap.) Here's a run down of what we did.

Sunday: Getting In
My husband was SUPER concerned that we'd be late picking his sister up from the airport (closest is Savannah/Hilton Head International, which is really small), so we drove all night and got in to downtown Savannah around 2am.  Savannah is kicking on Saturday night/Sunday morning and they have this weird open container rule where people can just roam the streets with alcohol, so everyone was in a good mood.  We tried to get an early check in at our hotel (Residence Inn Savannah Midtown- it was just okay, nothing to really write home about, but we had Marriott points!) but they were completely booked, as was everything we passed, so we ended up paying $10 and sleeping in our van in a parking garage.

Welcome to the Hotel Dodge Grand Caravan.  

I've got to give a shoutout here to our Grand Caravan, which has seats that lay WAY flat and is super comfortable to sleep in.  Thanks, Dodge, for being so considerate of people who can't find a hotel.  One of my "must see" places was the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, but since I was traveling with 3 people who aren't religious, I only wanted to torture my husband, so we hit the 8am mass so that I could see the building and go to church all in one swoop. The cathedral is really beautiful, and you guys, early mass is SHORT! I'm not Catholic, but I can tell you that in the time it took for mass to happen, my church might have made it through the first worship set.  

And yes, we changed clothes.  Thanks McDonalds, for having lovely facilities that we were able to use to change in.  After mass, my crazy wonderful husband decided we couldn't pick up his sister after driving in our car, and so we had to find a car wash and wash/vacuum the car.  

For Real. 

Luckily there's one really close to the airport, so we did that and then picked up my SIL and her husband.  Unfortunately our hotel didn't have a room clean yet for an early check in (but they'd probably have one around noon), so we headed to Clary's for brunch/lunch.  The nicest part about this restaurant was that it's in a really historic neighborhood and we had fun peeking into gardens and taking pictures of oak trees covered in Spanish Moss while we waited. 

So we ate lunch....

Aaaand, our hotel was still booked and couldn't get us in any earlier than 3pm, so we headed over to the Savannah College of Art and Design's museum. 

Note: You can't actually take this picture.  There's only one "insert" but Joe is a Photoshop Ninja.

The SCAD museum is really neat, although I have a hard time paying for museums (the Smithsonians have ruined me for life).  It was $10 per person (military/senior discounts are available), but there was a family pass for $30 for a family of 4, and we are, actually, all related so we did that :)  The exhibits switch out, but while we were there they had a bunch of neat modern art, a Carolina Herrera exhibit with tons of gorgeous dresses, and something about complex motion- the bulldozer in the picture below actually looks like a cathedral and the man who made it didn't give it a motor, but everything can move, so it could, in theory, work.  The docents are all SCAD students and while most of them are just quietly lurking in the corners with iPads, several of them are SUPER EXCITED about art and want to tell you all the cool facts that they know.  We liked those people a lot.  I wish I'd made some kind of an effort to remember the names of the really fantastic docents, but as you may recall, I slept in my car the night before, so you're lucky I remember I went to this museum to begin with. So there. 

After dinner, we went back to our hotel (!!) room and I played the mom and made everyone pick things they wanted to do so that we didn't just sit around all week doing nothing because we had to plan each morning.  

Okay, I initially planned on doing this in one post, but this is getting a little long, so we're going to divide this sucker up.  So that was Sunday, and it ended with me getting to sleep in a bed.  Which was amazing. 

Family 4-Packs for Farm Aid

Ticket 4-Packs Now On Sale for Farm Aid 2016

Bristow, Va. — To help more families enjoy Farm Aid’s all-day music and food festival, the organization announced today the availability of a family 4-pack that includes four lawn tickets for just $149.00. Farm Aid 2016 will take place Saturday, Sept. 17, at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Va.

Farm Aid 2016 will feature performances by Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews — with Tim Reynolds — as well as Alabama Shakes, Sturgill Simpson, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Jamey Johnson, Margo Price, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Carlene Carter and Insects vs Robots.

Farm Aid 2016 is a family-friendly music and food festival with hands-on activities in its HOMEGROWN Village. Families can learn skills like papermaking and fermentation, and get their hands dirty learning about soil, water, food and farming. Festivalgoers will also experience Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Concessions®, featuring family farm-identified, local and organic foods like chicken, pork chops, corn dogs, rice bowls, salads and more.

There are a limited number of 4-packs available, and the offer applies to advance ticket sales only. Fans can purchase 4-packs and pavilion seats to Farm Aid 2016 at Livenation.com, the venue box office, or by phone at 800-745-3000. Individual ticket prices range from $49.50 to $189.50.

For event updates, follow Farm Aid on Twitter (@farmaid) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/farmaid), and visit www.farmaid.org/concert.

Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. Since 1985, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $50 million to help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

PWA for Junior Kindergarten

Why Choose PWA for Junior Kindergarten?

At Prince William Academy, Junior Kindergarten is not a daycare program. We offer a rigorous yet developmentally appropriate course of study that provides ample opportunity for students to grow in body and mind within a nurturing and caring environment.

With an advanced curriculum, our Jr. K students learn at a kindergarten level and leave our program with a solid foundation for elementary school. Most recent academic data shows that students who attend PWA Junior Kindergarten significantly outperform peers in Kindergarten who did not. Our 2016 data shows: 

After successful completion of our Junior Kindergarten Program your child will be able to demonstrate:

• Letter Knowledge
  
• Phoenemic Awareness (phonics)
  
• Sound and Letter Associations
  
• Fine and Gross Motor Skills
  
  
  
  0. Through thematic lessons and problem solving activities, Jr. K students at PWA are able to connect academic instruction with real world experiences. Spanish is offered four days each week, as well as the choice of Mandarin or Arabic twice each week, providing cultural opportunities students can use to expand their understanding of the world and their role as global citizens. Physical Education, Art, Music, and Technology help round out our curricular approach.
     
     
     At its core, our program is designed to help our students develop self-confidence as they learn in a cooperative setting, interacting with their peers and acquiring skills to explain themselves and their reasoning. 

Nutrition Sunday: Fit Mommies

Nutrition  Sundays are provided by MaxMuscle Manassas. 

Review: Beric the Briton

You guys have read on Facebook about my deep and abiding love for audio books, and Heirloom Audio Productions does fantastic radio drama adaptations of the G.A.Henty books with Beric the Briton.

We received a hard copy of Beric the Briton (CD set) as well as access to several bonus materials including a study guide with comprehension questions, vocabulary, and thinking further sections (note: just the questions, not the answers, so you'll want to listen along, too), an inspirational poster from Julian (a character in the story), e-book, promotional poster, and more.   What you're probably wondering is just what exactly a "radio drama" is.  I grew up listening to these every weeknight on Christian Radio, so the format was familiar to me- but if you're not used to it, think of it like a play with no video.  There are sound effects, background music, and numerous actors voicing the characters, unlike an audio book which is just someone reading dramatically.  It's a very engaging format.  This book is a combination of historical fact and engaging fiction, and it ends up being about the treatment of early Christians in Rome.  Yay Gladiators and lions in the arena!  Now, on to the real experts, my kiddos :) Caution, you may find some of these points to be spoiler alerts.  Riley (Age 12)- I thought it was a fun book.  I liked the historical aspects entwined with the fictional story.  I liked that the story was about early followers of Jesus.  For younger kids, this might be a little scary because it has a lot of death, battle scenes, and lions who eat Christians.  The gore isn't really described, but I didn't think it was scary at all. My favorite part was when they killed everyone in the one town early in the book during the uprising.  It was very action-packed.  Logan (Age 10)- I felt that it's for more mature ages, like 9 and up, because it could get gruesome at times with things like wars and a bit of torture, gladiators, and stuff like that.  There were wolf hunts, too.  But I thought that the narrating was great- they got multiple people to be in it so each character had a different voice and I thought that was really cool.  My favorite part was probably when the people talked about Jesus because they had to do it in secret, and they still did it anyway.   Savannah (Age 8)- I thought it was really good. I liked that it was good for you about Jesus, but it also had history in it.  It was a little scary, though.  The sound effects were really good.  My favorite character was Beric because he was really brave even when his mom died in the battle with the queen, he still had to be brave and lead his people.  You can find more information about Heirloom Audio Productions, G.A. Henty series, and Beric the Briton on social media:  Beric The Briton FB Page

The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty series FB page

Heirloom Audio Productions

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeirloomStories

Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/114534826166314080647/114534826166314080647 

Instagram: @HeirloomAudioOfficial 

Nutrition Sunday: Healthy Mommies To Be

Nutrition  Sundays are provided by MaxMuscle Manassas. 

Pokemon Go at Potomac Nationals!

We just got this announcement from the Potomac Nationals and had to share with you!!

With the recent influx of popularity with Pokémon and the new Pokémon GO game for iOS and Android devices, the Potomac Nationals are excited to announce that Friday nights at Pfitzner Stadium are now Pokémon nights. Come out to The Pfitz every Friday home game for the remainder of the season and battle to become the Pokémon GO gym leader at G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium.

Pokémon nights at The Pfitz will include:

·         Two tickets to the next Friday home game to the "winner" at the
end of every Friday night game, which will be whoever is the "P-Nats Gym"
owner at the end of the P-Nats game.

·         Whoever owns the "P-Nats Gym" at the end of the final Friday home
game of the season, September 2nd vs. the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, will
receive four Washington Nationals tickets to Washington's game on September
30th vs. the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park.

·         Half price tickets to anyone dressed in Pokémon attire at the
P-Nats Box Office.

·         Pokémon themed giveaways to the first 500 fans.

·         Discounts for different types of Pokémon caught at the ballpark.

·         Redeem at the P-Nats Box Office after catching a Pokémon while at
the game.

·         The more of the game that you play while at Pfitzner Stadium, the more discounts you can receive and the better chance you have to win future P-Nats game tickets and potentially Washington Nationals tickets at the end of the season. Watch P-Nats baseball, play Pokémon, and enjoy Friday nights at Pfitzner Stadium!

Review: Art Achieve

As I've mentioned before, art is one subject that I really struggle with teaching and usually try to "outsource" to someone else.  However, that gets expensive, which is why I was excited to review ArtAchieve! We received an online subscription for Entire Level 1, but there are 3 levels, each with numerous fun lessons for your children!

Now level 1 has 11 lessons, but I was a little confused initially because lessons 3-11 are listed in your subscription, but you have to go back and use lessons 1 and 2 from the sample area (you can try lessons one and two for free!) and find the first two there.  I think it would be nice for subscribers if the first two lessons were listed in the same place as lessons 3-11, just so you don't skip anything.  I didn't initially realize this, so we started with the Hungarian Bugs and then went back after we finished a few lessons to work on lesson 1! My bad!

Anyhow, when you login to your account you get an overview of the lessons, and then you are able to select which lesson you'd like to begin.

We liked using the powerpoint lessons because we could pause on any slide we liked and take our time.  Some of us (cough, me, cough) need to go slowly with art to feel comfortable, so one of the nicest features of this program to me was the ability to really and truly self-pace each lesson for your comfort level.  The powerpoint or the video give you an explanation of what you're doing, and then there's a warm up, followed by clear, concise directions for how to complete each drawing task.  The lessons give you everything you need to complete, successfully, your art time.  Here's an example from one of the free lessons:

The warm ups are just to get your hands loose and get used to the idea of drawing lines and shapes to match what you're working from.  

Then you learn about the art piece you're working from, and the powerpoint or the video steps you through the simple shapes used to create the artwork yourself! You have the freedom to add colors and lines as you like, and in many lessons you can determine how much you do.  In the Hungarian Bugs, for example, you can do three smaller bugs or one LARGE bug, depending on how much you'd like to draw that day.

We really liked using the ArtAchieve lessons, and we recommend them to anyone who'd like a simple, easy to follow art program, whether it's for your homeschool or for fun and entertainment! All three of my children liked using this program, and think your kids will enjoy it, too, even if they're a little apprehensive about their artistic skill level!

I have to confess to you guys that I made a bad decision and only brought my husband's laptop on vacation with us, so I don't have our pictures with us of the great art my kids did- but I'll definitely update that on Facebook so you can see the great job they did!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Artachieve

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/artchieve  @artachieve

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/artachieve/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+artachieve

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnahofland/

Want more information about this company or to check out another level? Visit the review crew and see what everyone else thought! 

Nutrition Sunday: Back to Basics

Nutrition Sunday is brought to you by MaxMuscle Manassas, who provides all of the information posted. 

Review: Laurelwood Books' Patriotic Penmanship

We've used a standard handwriting program for years, but it was a really nice change of pace to try out Laurelwood Books' Patriotic Penmanship Grade 5.  Patriotic Penmanship uses a combination of famous quotes and Bible verses to teach handwriting.  It's available for grades 1 through high school, and the youngest grades can be purchased in manuscript (printing) while the older grades come in cursive.  I liked how the pages were more than just copying words, they were really worthwhile text that the student could also commit to memory or just have exposure to.  Now I ordered this particular text for my middle son, who does not enjoy handwriting.  He's of the mindset that it's 2016 and typing is a thing, so he shouldn't have to write.  He's also of the mindset that it's 2016 so he should be able to order software so he dictates to the computer and doesn't have to type or spell.  Obviously this presents some issues with handwriting practice because he just does not want to do it.  What I liked about this book is that I could kind of present it to him as a "great words" exercise, rather than straight handwriting.   On each page there are tracing options, as well as writing practice, and there is a copy of the cursive alphabet on the bottom of the page (because sometimes you forget what a cursive z looks like).  There are fewer lessons in this book than what we are used to (previously he's done daily handwriting practice), but I think that for 5th grade that's really a good thing.  He's ready to move to weekly handwriting practice, both for his sanity and because of the level of penmanship he's already at.  Each Patriotic Penmanship book (grades 1-5, junior high, high school) contains different quotes and verses, so you could definitely use them each year and not have your child feel like they were repeating anything.  At $13.95, these are a great consumable product for teaching handwriting with a unique, American twist.  If you're doing American History, I think this is a must-purchase as a supplement to what you're already studying.   Logan and I both give this program a thumbs up (he qualifies that with "you know, for handwriting") and enjoyed the content and the program. If you'd like to read more about the programs offered by Laurelwood Books (other levels of handwriting, Latin, etc) be sure to visit the homeschool review crew link below and check out what other families thought of this program.

What Our 4th of July Looked Like

Our Independence Day has gotten to be pretty cookie cutter around here, but we have fun nevertheless.  Our day started out with the Dale City Independence Day Parade, which runs from Beville Middle School to Center Plaza and starts at 10am, every year.  This year, my daughter had been up late with a fever, so she didn't come with me and it was just me and my boys.  As some of you have figured out, I work for Delegate Rich Anderson (R-51) who represents much of Lake Ridge, part of Manassas, and Nokesville.  We march with him each year because 1) it's kinda my job, and 2) because my oldest and Delegate Anderson are BFFs.

After the parade, the Anderson's have a BBQ at their house, which we always pop by for a few seconds.  The catering from Blue Dog BBQ is always really good, but I never eat much because back at my parent's house my mom is cooking, too! This year, we made Alton Brown's oven ribs which were AMAZING.  They're also really different than your standard BBQ ribs, so if you're looking for a change, I highly recommend them! We also made our favorite potato salad, which is mayo-less and just has roasted potatoes, corn, and lots of veggies.  For dessert we had strawberries and blueberries.  We kept it really simple this year, which made me happy :)  After both my dinners, we always hit the Potomac Nationals game.  

This is my crew :) I'm actually not a baseball fan, at all, but I enjoy the fun, community feel at the P-Nats games each year, and I definitely love the fireworks.  We always shoot for the Reserved Section around 4, 5, or 6, which puts you right behind the catcher.  Last night was especially fun for me because one of my friends was a few rows up and willing to be in a selfie war with me, so we had a lot of fun messing with each other, even if we weren't really watching the game.  At the end of the night the fireworks are always great, but of course you do have to sit in the parking lot with a couple hundred of your closest friends waiting to get out of the stadium complex, but we have a good time...

Especially when we're still having that selfie battle.

What did you do for the 4th? Any fun new recipes or events? Join the conversation on our Facebook page!

Nutrition Sunday: Comfort Food

Nutrition Sunday is brought to you by MaxMuscle Manassas, who provides all of the information posted. 

Summer School Food Program 2016

School	Dates	Times
Dale City Elementary	June 27–July 22 (No service July 4)	8:45–9:05 a.m. 12:00–12:15 p.m.
Ellis Elementary	July 5–July 22	8:15–8:45 a.m. 12:45–1:15 p.m.
Fitzgerald Elementary	June 20–August 26 (No service July 4)	8–8:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
Fred M. Lynn Middle	June 27–July 1	9–9:15 a.m. 12–12:15 p.m.
Fred M. Lynn Middle	July 5–July 22	8–9:15 a.m. 11:30 a.m. –12:15 p.m.
Fred M. Lynn Middle	July 25–August 12	8–9:15 a.m. 11:45 a.m. –12:15 p.m.
Freedom High School	June 27–August 5 (No service July 4)	7:25–7:55 a.m. 11–11:30 a.m.
Gar-Field High School	June 27–July 22 (No service July 4)	7:30–8 a.m. 10–10:30 a.m.
Hampton Middle School	July 5–July 22	8–8:20 a.m. 12–12:30 p.m.
Kerrydale Elementary	July 5–July 22	8:30–9:45 a.m. 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Kilby Elementary	August 1–August 19	9– 9:30 a.m. 11:20 a.m.– 12 p.m.
King Elementary	June 20–August 26 (No service July 4)	8–8:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Loch Lomond Elementary	June 27–August 11 (No service July 4)	9– 9:30 a.m. 12–12:30 p.m.
Minnieville Elementary	June 27–August 11 (No service July 4)	9– 9:30 a.m. 12–12:30 p.m.
Occoquan Elementary	July 5–July 22	9:30– 10 a.m. 12–12:25 p.m.
Potomac Middle	July 5–July 22	7:30– 8 a.m. 9:45–11 a.m.
Potomac View Elementary	July 5–July 22	9:30– 10 a.m. 12–12:25 a.m.
Rippon Middle	June 27–July 15 (No service July 4)	7:50–8 a.m. 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
River Oaks Elementary	July 5–July 22	9–9:30 a.m. 12:15–12:45 p.m.
Sinclair Elementary	June 20–August 26 (No service July 4)	8–8:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
Stonewall Middle	July 5–July 22	7:45– 8:15 a.m. 10:45–11:15 a.m.
Sudley Elementary	July 5–July 22	9–9:30 a.m. 11:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Vaughan Elementary	June 20–August 26	8–8:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
West Gate Elementary	July 6–August 4 (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs)	8–8:35 a.m. 10:15–11:30 a.m.
Woodbridge Middle	July 5–July 22	7:30–8 a.m. 9:45–10:45 a.m.
Yorkshire Elementary	July 5–July 22	8:30– 9:15 a.m. 11 a.m.–12 p.m.

Prince William County Public Schools is participating in the USDA Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided at eligible schools during their Summer School session. Meals will be available to those students enrolled in Summer School, as well as any children age 18 and under from the surrounding community who care to eat. Meals will be provided to all children without charge. Participation requirements for the program are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service

4th of July Fun 2016

Lorton Workhouse- July 2nd
5pm Galleries and artist buildings open, food trucks and refreshments available around the quad.  6:30 highlands dance demo, 7pm concert, 9:15pm fireworks.  Admission is free, parking is $10, shuttle service is available from the Vulcan Materials lot. 

Old Town Manassas- July 4th
Check out the fun between the Harris Pavillon and Manassas Museum. There will be rides for the kids starting at 3 p.m. Food concessions and novelty vendors will begin at 4 p.m. Be sure to bring your lawn chairs and blankets and come early to get the best seats on the Manassas Museum Lawn for the firework display at 9:15 p.m.! These fireworks are also visible from the hill at Grace UMC on Wellington Road. For more information: http:// visitmanassas.org/event/celebrate-america-2/?instance_id=109052 

City of Manassas Park - July 4th
7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Signal Hill Park, Monday, July 4. There will be free shuttles from the VRE Station and City Hall starting at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free. Parking is $5 beginning at 5 p.m. 

Woodbridge- July 4th

The 48th annual Dale City Independence Day parade on Dale Boulevard begins at 10 a.m. near Beville Middle School and ends at the Center Plaza commuter lot, where a Family Fun Festival will take place after the parade. The Family Fun Day festivities run until 2 p.m. For more information: http://www.dalecitycivic.org/pages/ events.html. 

The Potomac Nationals Fourth of July fireworks show after the baseball game on Monday at Pfitzner Stadium begins at 6:35 p.m. Gates open at 5 p.m. for the game and attendees can purchase $16 tickets to a Fourth of July picnic with all-you-can-eat hot dogs, hamburgers and sides. These fireworks are also visible from the Ruby Tuesday's parking lot, and from the hills outside the softball fields at Pfitzner Stadium. For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.potomacnationals.com   

Montclair- July 4th

Montclair's fireworks are restricted to residents, but you guys always notice them and ask me about them.  If you're an HOA member you can watch from Dolphin beach.  If you're not, you may be able to see them from surrounding communities.