I love the Fourth of July. Like most kids, fireworks have always entertained me. The bigger and the louder, the better!

But living in Southern California and having fire season pretty much year round means fireworks are not legal in many cities, including my own.

So this year we will get together with my sister at her house where you can still light off fireworks and celebrate the country’s birthday.

What I love about the 4th the most, no not the fireworks, is what happens during the day. I love hanging out in the sun, barbecuing burgers and hot dogs while kids play in the yard and we all just visit together. Maybe shoot some hoops, or turn on the sprinklers for the kids to run through. Being with my family is such a blast and the 4th is a great reason to do that.

The biggest hurdle as usual is diabetes. How to keep the carb intake to a minimum but still enjoy all the yummy stuff is never easy. My wife is always good about bringing a fresh fruit salad so I stay out of the other sweet desserts. I do my best to have maybe one hot dog with a bun and my burger and any additional hot dogs without buns. Chips are tough but if I put a few on my plate and fill the rest up with salad I am typically good.

Not to mention running around with the kids helps to keep the BG low.

Maybe we can turn on some music and dance off those carbs!

All and all, I cannot let diabetes get in the way of having good time and visiting with family. Nothing can stand in the way of that, not even a dumb disease.