Happy 4th!

I love the 4th of July. Nothing beats a warm summer evening watching fireworks with your family, sipping a bottled cream soda (or lemonade or sweet tea) as the fields sparkle with fireflies. Yep, that's what our 4th was like. It was wonderful!

My parents live out of city limits (woo-hoo!) which means we are able to have as much fun playing with fire as our little hearts desire. I enjoy watching fireworks....but my hubby loves blowing them up.

 As do my brothers. I think it's a man thing. I will admit that blowing the head off of an old action figure was pretty sweet though. We never found the head. Anyway, we got to Mom and Dad's late morning. Carey and I got to work making homemade ice cream and peach crisp. Yum! Lucy went out to visit the animals.

Every trip to the barn during the summer means a freezy pop. :)

We helped Momo pick some herbs for the salad. They smell yummy.

We had a great meal with tons of grilled meat! Ribs, smoked sausage, steak, burgers. Fabulous. But I think I might be a vegetarian this week. :) Carey's contribution to the 4th was bottled sodas for the day. Mmm. Nothing like a cold bottled soda on a hot summer day! This is about as patriotic as it gets.

We enjoyed setting fireworks off during the evening hours. Well, everyone except Lucy. She is not a fan. They terrify her. And I quote her, "They're really really loud!" Yes, they are. I think she thought Carey was going to die each time he would light a firework. *Sigh* Maybe she'll do better next year.

Momo saved the day when she found the sidewalk chalk. Horray!

Lucy was ok with confetti poppers and the little snappers you throw on the ground. I consider this progress.

We had a great time hanging out enjoying the evening.

 Here I am with my love (aka the pyromaniac).

I like him. Good thing he's not weird or anything.

And here I am with our new baby. 18 weeks!

As it got dark the boys set off all of the fireworks they got. We had quite a nice display. They're already planning next year's show. :) And what's awesome about Mom and Dad's place is that you can see fireworks from all around! In the distance you can see and hear each neighboring city's shows. Plus, all of our neighbors set them off. We have one of the best seats in town and no crowds! Doesn't get better than that. We could have sat out all night watching fireworks. Beautiful! The fireflies put on a sparkly show too. I can't wait until Lucy is big enough to be out in the grass chasing fireflies! Well, maybe I can. She's growing up so fast as it is! :) My little sparkler. I love her.

And I officially win Mom of the year for snapping a few pictures before removing Lucy from this situation. Maybe she'll like fireworks one day after all. =)

Happy 4th of July!