Happy 4th of July (even though we hate fireworks at our house)!

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= us sitting in the basement watching TV all night.

Last year was Hoosier's first 4th of July (he was only 6 months old). The result was a dog that shook and panted so hard, I thought he was going to die. For the next month or so, we had to drag (and sometimes carry) him outside just so he could go to the bathroom. Loud noises and anything in the sky (i.e. airplanes, clouds, thunder, lightning, etc.) still totally freak him out. In fact, he once tried to hide inside the freezer during a thunderstorm. For all of you out there trying to figure that one out, our freezer is on the bottom, and I happened to have it open at the time. He actually tried to crawl in, though. When he couldn't figure out how to get in, he just plopped down in front of it, and I had to physically move him so I could close the door. SO...that brings us to today...a wonderful holiday to celebrate our country's independence. Our family celebrates by eating a big meal - today's menu included red, white and blue pinwheel steaks, grilled foil-wrapped potatoes, peppery cheese bread and grasshopper pie - and retreating to the basement (the only place in our house where the sound of fireworks are muffled) and watching shows on the DVR. Here's to hoping we don't have to carry our dog outside to pee tomorrow! Happy 4th of July!