A little history:

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

“ The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

Some Trivia:

Held since 1785, the Bristol Fourth of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island is the oldest continuous Independence Day celebration in the United States.

Since 1916, Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City supposedly started as a way to settle a dispute among four immigrants as to who was the most patriotic.
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Did you know that chalk can help prevent ants from invading your home this summer? Just grab a stick and draw a thick line around points where ants might enter your home – like the base of the front door and kitchen windows. Ants are repelled by the calcium carbonate in chalk, and probably won’t cross the line. Does this work for picnics as well?? Draw a circle around you and you’re all set!
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WILLASTON, England - A 10-year-old girl set a world record by bringing 567 worms up from the ground during Britain’s World Worm Charming Championships. Sophie Smith of Willaston, England, won the competition in her village Saturday by besting the previous world record of 511 worms, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, The Daily Telegraph reported. A number of techniques were employed to try to coax worms from the ground during the light rain Saturday. One man strummed rock tunes on his guitar, a woman tap danced to the theme from “Star Wars” and a man played the xylophone with bottles. The most common method was sticking a garden fork into the ground and smacking it with a stick to create vibrations. Kenneth Catania, a U.S. neuroscientist specializing in sonic phenomena, said in research published last year that worm charming is at its most effective when competitors make sounds that emulate those of the mole, a natural predator of the worm. “We carefully compared the frequencies,” Catania said, “and it’s moles every time. When it rains the worms come out slowly, but with charming and moles they come out as if they were running. That’s if worms could run.”
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HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England - A British woman said her seven years of combing fields and beaches with a metal detector paid off with a 15th-century piece of gold valued at about $400,000. Mary Hannaby, 57, said she and her son, Michael, 33, were walking in a Hertfordshire field when they discovered the item, believed to be part of a reliquary or pendant, four inches below the ground, a position experts said it has likely been in for about 500 years, The Daily Telegraph reported. “You can literally miss things by inches,” Michael Hannaby said. “We couldn’t believe it. We always dreamed of finding treasure.” Roger Bland, head of treasure at the British Museum, said the item, which depicts the Holy Trinity, is an “important find” but the museum does not have the funds to participate in its auction, scheduled for July 9 at Sotheby’s in London.
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but here’s a video that’s so dumb..it’s kinda funny! Be sure to watch the second and third parts as well!

Today we were playing Carol King - So Far Away. My mind started thinking of this:

I didn't have Elmo when I was a kid watching Seasame Street..Grover was my monster..except he didn't giggle!

Summer Solstice—June 20 and 21
Welcome summer! The summer solstice, when the Sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator, occurs on June 20 or 21, depending on your time zone. (It occurs on June 21 at 1:46 A.M. EDT.)

The word “solstice” comes from the Latin sol (Sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice). See the seasons of 2009 and 2010.
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Father’s Day—June 21
Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day has a modern origin. The idea came to Mrs. John Dodd as she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1910. Her father, William Smart, had raised his children alone on his Washington farm after his wife died giving birth to their sixth child. Mrs. Dodd proposed a “father’s day.”

The first Father’s Day was observed on June 19, 1909, in Spokane, and soon other towns had their own celebrations. Father’s Day did not become a permanent national holiday until 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed a law declaring that it be celebrated annually on the third Sunday in June.
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Saturday: (06-20):
Ice Cream Soda Day
Go Skateboarding Day
National Hollerin’ Contest Day (always third Saturday in June)
Vinegar Day
World Juggling Day
World Refugee Day
Bald Eagle Day
Plain Yogurt Day
Longest Dam Run, Ft Peck, MT (along the 1.8 mile Ft Peck Dam.)

1864 - West Virginia officially becomes a state.

1782 - Congress approved the design for the Great Seal of the United States. William Barton designed the seal, which depicted an eagle clutching an olive branch in one talon and 13 arrows in the other, and in its beak, a ribbon bearing the motto “E Pluribus Unum,” meaning “one out of many.” Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey would be a more appropriate symbol and wrote to his daughter from France: “The turkey, in comparison, is a much more respectable bird.”

1914 - Noxema skin cream got its name because it knocks out eczema (knocks zema).

1973 - The first issue of Playgirl magazine hit newsstands, featuring the first nude centerfold of a man. That was Burt Reynolds. It sold out in three days.

1975 - Steven Spielberg released Jaws, creating Hollywood’s first blockbuster. And a movie that kept people out of the water all summer!
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Sunday (06-21):
Go Skate Day
Baby Boomer’s Recognition Day
Vinegar Day
Go Skateboarding Day
Pee on Earth Day(I really don’t want to know)
Vegan World Day
Watermelon Seed Spitting Day

1788 - New Hampshire became the 9th state to ratify the U-S Constitution on this date back in 1788. (However, the Constitution didn’t become the official law of the land until Mar 04, 1789.)

1879 - Guy named F-W Woolworth opened his first 5 and 10 cent store in Lancaster, PA.

1857 - Dr Pepper released.

1893 - First Ferris Wheel.
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How will you be celebrating Father’s Day this Sunday? Most of the dads taking part in a Sullivan Higdon & Sink’s Father’s Day survey say they will be doing something to mark the occasion this year. Four out of five fathers plan to spend the day with their kids, along with other family members and friends. Only nine-percent will be having the day for themselves. Just over a quarter of dads also intend to be celebrating the day with their own father, with 21-percent noting they’ll be giving their dad a gift. Meanwhile, just 31-percent expect to get something from their own kids. When it comes to how dad wants to spend his day, the majority note they’d be happy hanging out at home with their family. But they admit they’d like to be pampered with breakfast in bed. Just over a third of the dads also plan to cook, with 34-percent noting they’ll be firing up the grill for a barbecue this Sunday. Twenty-six-percent say they’ll be going out for a meal.
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Two baby flamingos at a London Zoo are afraid of the color pink. That’s according to zoo keeper Alison Brown who tells Britain’s the “Telegraph” she’s hopeful the chicks will soon become comfortable with the color. The 32-day-old birds, named Little and Large, are currently a brownish-grey color and will likely grow pink feathers when they are about a year old. Brown says keepers first became aware that the birds were afraid of the color when they tried to feed them using pink sock puppets. Brown said, quote, “We’ve been wearing a hand puppet which imitates adult flamingos, but unfortunately [[ Little ]] was really terrified of the socks.” She added that once the birds get their own pink coloring, they will probably grow out of their fear.

Womans Day has a great article on Innovative Ice Cream Flavors. Now remember I said Innovative!
Like:
candied bacon ice cream

curry carrot Ice cream

blue cheese and carmelized ice cream -”set out to showcase a local blue cheese in this groundbreaking dish, which they describe as a flavor only fit for the non-faint of heart.”

sweet corn ice cream

soy sauce sorbet - “After many experiments, even the innovative chef ultimately decided that soy sauce is a little too odd for desserts”

japanese black sesame ice cream

See the full list and what it all looks like here.
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Saturday: (06-13):
Work at Home Day
Creating With Your Heart Day
Sewing Machine Day.

The longest attack of hiccups began on this day in 1923. Charlie Osborne hiccuped over 435 million times before stopping. He died just 11 months after his hiccups ended in 1991 at age 98. Tragically, he never realized his childhood dream to become an auctioneer.

1884 - First roller coaster unveiled, Coney island.

Walter Hunt of New York City patented an invention so he could pay a $15 debt (1825). It only took him 3 hours to make a sketch of his idea –the safety pin– to which he sold the rights for $400 dollars. Since then, billions of safety pins have been sold.

Sunday (06-14):
Army’s Birthday - founded 1775
Croquet Day
Family History Day
World Juggling Day
World Blood Donor Day
Trooping the Colours (annually, in England on the Queen’s Official Birthday).

It’s Flag Day (232nd anniversary of the Stars & Stripes). Basically, on this day in 1777, the Continental Congress made the Stars & Stripes the first National Flag. No one knows who really designed the FIRST American flag; historians believe it was Francis Hopkinson, a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. As part of the Continental Congress’ flag committee, he allegedly took the design to Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross, who sewed it. (Editor’s note: Although Betsy was primarily an upholsterer, she prayed in the pew next to George Washington, and a niece of George Ross, both of whom were on the Flag Committee. And since upholsterers normally were called upon to make flags back in the day, it’s not hard to believe that she actually DID make the first flag).

1976 - ”The Gong Show” debuted on NBC, hosted by Chuck Barris.