The 4th, Finally!

Apparently, I'm incapable of blogging during the summer. There's just too much going on, be it my own family things, or youth activities, holidays, or just general summer craziness. So, yeah, I've got a lot to catch up on. So anyway, first things first!

The 4th of July for our family is a pretty epic event. Our kids consider it the Christmas of summer, and we try really hard to live up to that every year. We started with the annual neighborhood kiddie parade/pancake breakfast.

And then we welcomed the rest of the fam for the annual water party. I love the water party. The kids are so eager to have fun, to play, to make the most of summer.

And of course, we had to have some Bomb Pops. Or fudgesicles, if you felt more like chocolate.

The adults got a kick out of watching the kids, visiting and drinking some leaded beverages.

Then it was time to dry out. Too much water and too many Popsicles make for chilly kids.

After the water party, we had time to relax, the younger kids (and some of the adults, I'll be honest) had a nap, and then we got ready for the First Annual Bayly 4th of July Extravaganza! Usually this is the part of our holiday where we got to Brad and Sara's for a BBQ, and an outdoor movie, but they decided to take their family to a Bee's Game, and Kev and Meg were committed to a friends house. So it was just our little family. Our kids love the outdoor movie tradition, so we borrowed a blow up screen and watched Sandlot in our backyard, after eating some tasty steaks and corn on the cob.

Then we lit some sparklers, to help pass the time while we waited for it to be dark enough to actually see the movie on the screen.

Deathly Hallows. I'm such a nerd.

Teag and I had bought some pretty large cakes from Costco to fire off once it was fully dark. It was going well, especially because the neighbor a few houses down had some as well, so we were all enjoying a fairly spectacular show... until one of our cakes tipped over and started firing down the street, and at people's houses. Teag lunged in and stepped on it, making sure it was aimed in a safe direction, but it scared everyone pretty good. Everything ended well though, so no harm, no foul. Once again we had a fantastic 4th, and are grateful for the reminder of the freedoms we enjoy in this country.