Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July was one of my favorite holidays growing up.  Especially in middle/high school and college years, when my uncle put on a fireworks show that attracted thousands of people from all over ND, MT, and Canada to my little hometown.  My family was right in the middle of the action.  We wired fireworks in the morning, hopped on a float or drove a tractor/old car in the parade in the afternoon, collected donations for the fireworks in the evening, spent time with family and friends, and finally sat back and enjoyed the best fireworks show for miles around.  It was AWESOME!  It was exhausting!  It was the BEST!  It's pretty hard to compete with the "good ol' days"! 

Although we didn't celebrate with earth-shaking, sky-bursting fireworks, or thousands of people for that matter, we still had a pretty fun day!  We tried to beat the heat the best we could on a day that the temperature hit nearly 100 degrees!

Here are some of the hi-lites:

Red, White, & Blue Waffles for Breakfast

Running through the sprinkler with Daddy!

and Mommy! 

Little Diva!

Taking a breather in my favorite place in our backyard!

Ready for the party!

Family Picture

Finding out what happens when you put a lit smoke bomb in water!
Fascinating!!!!

Who needs thousands when you have the opportunity to
celebrate with these beautiful faces?

Enjoying Fire Cracker (PopRock) Floats

Watching the fireworks safe in daddy's arms!

Lined up for the show!

We lit primarily kid-friendly, mostly legal, fireworks and enjoyed the fireworks the neighbors shot off illegally!  (Since you can't light them in city limits.)  Pinky's favorite were the snaps, which she would stomp on with her crocs and shout "Pop goes the weasel!"  (HA!!!!)  The "big girls" sat front and center for our little fireworks display and declared "this is the best day ever!"  It was a great way to end a sunny, friend- and fun-filled Independence Day!

Hope you had a safe and happy 4th of July!