The Fourth

Teenagers are pretty cute. 

Last year we bought some fireworks to set off, but when we went to the Lenexa Stake Center, there was a definite "no no" vibe there. So they've been sitting in the cabinet above the fridge for a whole year. 

I love those roman candles!

The neon smoke bombs were very cool.

Mark snuck off with the girls earlier to get a few more....real fireworks. 

When the fireworks ran out, we headed over to Gardner lake. The lights on the water is particularly beautiful. 

 I can't think of a better way to celebrate!

A Fourth of a different flavor

 Starting off the day with a hero WOD at On Track! It was a huge turnout. 

Home to do some patriotic nails and find our America t-shirts!

We never really have solid plans for where we will watch fireworks. We tend to wander over to Gardner Lake and pull over in an unidentified grassy patch that I promise you I would not be able to find in the daytime.  It's got an okay view of some fireworks and we have a fair amount of mosquito biting going on. It's fun...it's a semi-tradition...and it's always in danger of getting ditched for a better idea.

We heard that the view at the Lenexa Stake Center was pretty great, so we figured we would try it out. 

Some good friends, glow sticks and a quick exit out the back lot and I'd say it's a future contender!

Happy Birthday, America!

Fourth, Fashion and Fire

We decided to host the fourth in the cul de sac this year. We pooled our fireworks with the Flynns and Petersons. 

That was just enough to get a little sparkler action:

 A smattering of smoke bombs:

And three dad's discussing strategy for the "big stuff"

And a little grainy camera footage from that plan well and truly blowing up: 

If you can't see what that is, it's a still shot of our driveway...and fire everywhere. Somehow we escaped without injury or damage to the neighbor's homes. It might be divine intervention. 

One more thing....do you see those cute shirts the girls are wearing? Those were 100% the result of Mark taking them out to find cute clothes for the occasion. He did great letting them all pick out their own style of red, white and blue!

Independence Day in Gardner

When it comes to traditions, dragging all your friends to go see fireworks in Gardner is even more time-honored than shooting off fireworks!

But making the strawberry flag cake beats them both

\

Loved getting our call from Elder Hufford before heading out!

This year we opted for Gardner's actual firework show, instead of pulling over and trespassing to catch a glimpse of whatever flammables the houses by the lake shoot into the air. We're fully compliant with the law (this year).

Happy 4th of July!! 

Fourth of July

This is a confusing holiday for the masses. On one hand, the news is reporting an increase in Covid-19 cases, Kansas is requiring mask-wearing for all public spaces and many of the firework shows were cancelled to discourage large groups of people from gathering together. 

Then again, Kansas is actually doing pretty well. Our numbers are holding pretty low. We planned a cookout with the Guenthers and Flynns. We have done everything with them for the last decade. We are going to keep doing so. We are on private property and it's 95 degrees out and 110% humidity. We plan on stuffing our faces and we will not be wearing masks. 

We like to follow the rules, but then we sometimes just don't because it seems so.....stupid. 

But hey, let's compromise. I promise to wear them in Walmart and gas stations and public bathrooms. I'll even wear them to church. I draw the line at the pool. 

Now.

Back to celebrating. 

We made burgers and dogs and lots of yummy side dishes. Then we sat around and talked until the kids had polished off the entire 9x13 of Chocolate Lasagna. 

Kate did some face paint on the girls

And Ryan listened to Megan play and showered her with praise. I love that he hasn't hit that stage where he's embarrassed to be kind and open. 

We drove back to our cul de sac to light off our little collections of pyrotechnics. Mari and Martin's neighbors have a reputation for calling police on suspect behavior.  Oh...did I mention that fireworks are illegal? Not sure how they would enforce those laws tonight...the entire city was lit up! People are cooped up and they're bored.

We did our handful and started burning through the 3 dozen sparklers I've had in the closet for the last few years....

We even had some of those fabulous snakes!

Our favorite was the Emoji!! It lit up like a jack-o-lantern!

And the roman candles. They make everyone feel like a wizard!

And then the neighbors want bananas! They were blowing up the big stuff! I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that we live right by the fire station! Hopefully the firefighters could enjoy them from their parking lot...lol.

We did drive out to Gardner to watch the fireworks over the lake. We were pretty late, but we still saw some beautiful ones.

We didn't stay too long...we were tired.

Grateful for our free country. I'm grateful we have the choice to choose and even argue with each other about what we think is right. I'm especially thankful for our dear friends and the fun traditions that we have built together year after year. Happy Fourth!

2018 Fourth of July Extravaganza

We did all the things today. We had a fun bbq potluck with the neighbors...we didn't know anyone there except for the actual neighbors we live by...that is due to our peculiar people status. But hey...we showed. We were neighborly.

Mathew discovered he can stick a speaker to his abs. That's because he is a young bean and he has muscles unencumbered by years of cookies.

Ethan went ALL OUT for the neighborhood bike parade. He loves America!

We had a get together with the Guenthers and Flynns that feature the American pastime of shooting stuff for fun....

Hanging about and chewing the fat.

Doing various feats of strength, agility and general one-up-manship in the name of entertaining ourselves.

Then ditching our sissy city boundaries for the wild child to the west, Gardner.  That whole city is lighting their money on fire and we are more than happy to sit back and watch the show!

Happy Fourth Everybody!! Yeehaw!