Better Late Than Never

Yeah, I know it is almost 2 weeks since the Fourth of July, but hey, it's been busy around here! I haven't had time to blog lately. :)

So here's the set-up in the backyard on July 3rd:
Dominic and Catherine had fun with sparklers. Anne and Joseph were too scared to hold them. That's probably a good thing, though. And I know, it's not dark out, but oh well, they are still little. They loved it anyway!

Here's how you light "snakes" out in the country: all at once and with a blowtorch!

Actually it was a bit windy, so this was the only way Dan could get them to light. Aren't all guys pyros at heart?

Now here we are on the 4th, starting off our celebration with some good ole Bomb Pops:

Bomb Pops leave quite a stain on the face!

Anne in her festive sundress:

On the 4th, the kids got to stay up until it got dark and Dan made them a row of sparklers:

Since this was our first year out in the country for the 4th of July, we weren't sure what to expect. Wow, did the people all around us celebrate! In every direction you looked from our house you could see several different firework displays going off. It was neat. One of our neighbors gave us a good scare the night of July 5th. A short while after we put the kids to bed, we heard an extremely loud KABOOM!!! Dan jumped out of his chair and went out on the deck, and said, "Come here, you've got to see this!" I went out and they were shooting off a few of the biggest fireworks you've ever seen at a city fireworks display. The noise was deafening. We could hear them yelling in triumph: "Wooooooooo!! That was the big mama!" It was crazy. I am still surprised the kids didn't wake up. It is definitely different from living in the city.