Independence Day

We had a very nice 4th of July. Jeff grilled us a yummy Polynesian chicken lunch. We went to see the Lorax at the dollar theater. Then after naps we had the Attridges over for a BBQ.

Here are the cute lil' girls in their crowns. After the library the day before, Aubrey decided Isla would need one too, so she made her one.

 

Grilling away. Those lean hamburgers I made were pretty delicious. I even made some homemade, clean ketchup to have with them.

 

 Of course the girls had to sit on either side of Isla.

The girls enjoying these super cute flag cookies the Esther made.

Aubrey had made up a game for our party. It was essentially 4th of July charades. We had to think of something that had to with 4th of July and act it out while the others guessed. Here's Aubrey trying to think of something to act out.

My cuties by the flag.

The whole fam. looking festive.

I love this pic. of Isla. She started giggling and covered her face. Too cute!

We did our fireworks early so Isla could get home for bed. Isla thought she needed to help with the fireworks!

And the show begins!

Esther the pyro decided she needed to have a go at it too! Or maybe she was tired of trying to hold Isla back from trying to get the fireworks and wanted a new job!

Enjoying our little show. (Apparently we feel that the reds and the blues need to be segregated!)

Some of our fireworks were called "Junebugs". Aubrey really liked that name so she was jumping around like a firework saying, "I'm a Junebug."

Jeff taking a turn of trying to hold Isla back from the fireworks!

It's get Uncle Bryan time!

Then we brought out the poppers which were the hit of the night.

My girls have always loved them, but this was Isla's first time. She loved them too.

She loved throwing them down and making them pop. She also helped us discover that they don't hurt you if you get hit by them. We always assumed they would so we made the girls be careful with them. Well Isla got one in her mouth and bit it and it popped right in her mouth. She didn't even flinch. Thanks Isla for teaching us that they are harmless!

Then we headed out to the field to play some games and wait for the big show.

 When it got dark we pulled out the glow bracelets.

Brooke had a ball making large and small circles out of them. She was completely entertained with that. In fact we had to convince her to stop and watch the fireworks once they began!

Aubrey with her frisbee's that she had fun throwing and chasing.

Brookie still hard at work - she was so focused at it.

And still going.

And still going.

Aubrey saw some big kids making things out of theirs, so she went to work too. First was her big necklace.

Next was a belt.

Last was a funky necklace.

While the girls were playing glow bracelets I was messing with the settings on my camera to try and get the best setting for fireworks. I ended up with some pretty cool shots. This is my favorite!

 

I've always loved fireworks. I just think it's incredible that people have figured out how to make them. And every year they get even more sophisticated and creative. 

I hope everyone else had a happy Independence Day!