The 4th of July post.

Fourth of July came and went in the blink of an eye. I'm not sure if it's just me but I feel like it was over with before I even realized it was here.

We celebrated America's birthday the same way as we celebrate many holidays in this family. 

Out at my Uncle Kevin's house. He has such a beautiful spot way out in the country were we all can just laze around and relax and talk and be there with each other. It is not crowded or uncomfortable or rushed in any way. 

I like that kind of party.

And it wouldn't be the same without a few shots of this little guy. I'm just gonna go ahead and start this post with a picture of him. 

He's pretty much the first thing I zoom on in when we get there anyway. 

We all take turns passing him around. Nobody can get enough of him.

Babies make parties so much better.

I totally forgot there would be a little pool for the kids.

So here's my kid's fully clothed. Swimming.

Oh well. It was so hot they dried in like 10 minutes. Also, Ayden swims in his clothes anyway so for him that was no different.

We had a real good time.

Mud surfin'! 

And fish fryin'.

Someone is prepared.

I'm not sure how many smoke bombs there were,

But I know it was enough to clear out a patio table full of adults.

My cautious guy turning down any involvement in the lighting of explosive or sparkly stuff.

And my sweet girl taking refuge in her daddy's lap after getting her finger burned.
A precursor to what was to later come...she ended up getting nailed in the head by a runaway sideways firecracker that was randomly shooting at us as it fell on its side. She was fine, thankfully.

Despite the few injuries that occurred the fireworks still carried plenty of magic in the eyes of the children.

Especially the smaller ones who are just now getting big enough to participate and know the fun that comes on the fourth day of every July. 

Aaaah, the smell of sulfur. You love it or hate it.

The big kids getting to run the show. Kinda.

Bobby was the official firework starter. It's a serious job. 

For men who have only the biggest of arm guns.

Poor Sally. Gettin hauled into solitary after trying to eat the fireworks.
Hers just wanted to play too.
Bless her, she even had black singed marks all over her face and mouth.

Watching the fireworks in the daylight. Its what you do when you have more than a handful of eager young children, a box of fireworks in their view, and your really tired and need to get going home.

They were still beautiful.

It was Jayden's lucky day. Stompin discarded cardboard tanks. 

Does it get any better than that?! He was king of the world.

Sparklers.  Fourth of July would not be complete without them.
And we blew through dozens in like five minutes. Because thats how sparklers roll. 

We didn't have a lot of fireworks but I think it's safe to assume that it was still a grand celebration. 

Good friends and family is what it's all about.
We are celebrating and embracing America and it's history and traditions. 

Don't you just hate it when your popper gets stuck? I do.

The kid is pretty innovative. 

Speaking of innovation. Well, actually maybe not innovation. I was going to mention how we rig up a beer can for the kids to play with their explosives.

But there is just so much wrong with that sentence that I am looking for a whole other adjective all together.

While the scorching July heat starts taking its toll we do what we can to keep cool. Especially looking out for our littles. 

We de-shirt babies

 

And pour cool water over our children.

Oh and you put two little boys in a pool together with a spray hose and there will invariable be a screaming match, dramatic throw down, and severe finger pointing.

Ayden found a new friend who was trying to keep cool over by the pool.

And also in typical Uncle Kevin's House fashion we celebrated a couple of birthdays while we were there. 

Happy Birthday to my sweet cousin Rosalie. You are turning into such a lovely young lady.

And Happy Birthday to my beautiful cousin Kristi, who is a FANTASTIC new mama.

and of course, my Dad. 

Love you Dad!

Happy 18th? Birthday!!

Since we celebrated at my uncles house on the 3rd so it would be during the weekend, we had the day open to meet some friends at our towns annual Fourth of July celebration. 

There was a band there that used only trash cans, water bottles and other recycled items for instruments. They were very talented and a lot of fun to watch. The kids LOVED it. They actually did kind of remind me of the Fresh Beat Band.

And I just have to point out that that guy in the picture was the lead guy. He just had his 49th birthday and the dude was in the shape of a high school cheerleader. He was all doing backflips and jumping off and back on the stage. And dancing the whole time. He had some crazy moves. 

I need to work out.

Of course we supported our local police department and bought all the necessary festival gear of glow necklaces and patriotic paper fans. 

The fireworks were amazing. 

They were big and beautiful and rattled our chests when the extra big ones went off. 

All different colors and sizes. 

We battled the traffic back home and finished off the night with a single celebratory sparkler for each kid.

We had plans to do more of our own fireworks but it was too late and we were just too tired. 

Oh and we also brought out this fountain just for good measure. It ALSO fell on its side and started shooting sideways. We had to once again RUN AWAY. I am so glad it didn't set our yard on fire. 

God Bless America!