Fun on the 4th

The weird thing about living in Missouri as opposed to Cali or Nevada…and maybe it’s not weird so much as different…is that we can set off fireworks here if we’re outside the city limits. (We can also burn on our property if we’re outside of the city limits which is also weird to me! A bonfire in the backyard? Sure! Go for it!.) The fireworks stands start going up the 2nd week in June and there’s one on every corner! Kind of like the Christmas tree lots in December. I love fireworks. Love watching the lights in the sky. Love seeing the awe on the kiddos’ faces as they watch them. I just don’t particularly like having the fireworks set off close to me.

I think it’s left over from spending 38 years in a flammable part of the country where we couldn’t have fireworks at all. It’s the whole fear-of-setting-something-on-fire-only-to-have-everything-destroyed syndrome. When we burn in the backyard, I make sure M has the hose close by and ready just in case.

The first summer we were here, Michael was soooo excited about getting some fireworks, but I talked him out of it. Didn’t want anyone getting an eye shot out. And what if we set something on fire?? Well, all of our neighbors had fireworks, and while we got to watch some pretty cool stuff, I still felt bad because Michael had had his heart set on shooting some rockets that July.

So, needless to say, the last 3 summers, we’ve had fireworks. It started out with just a few. Now it’s up to a LOT. Michael’s really careful and we make sure to keep the kids away from them. Except for the sparklers. They love the sparklers!!!
Yesterday, to kill time before it got dark, we went out and caught about 50 fireflies in the backyard. Totally fun since both Kylie and Connor were catching them like crazy. Once it got dark, we went out front to the driveway and started shooting off our fireworks. The neighbors always seem to have this competition on the 4th: the bigger and louder the better. It benefits us because we get a personal fireworks show! I dunno why we even spend money on the stupid things! But the kids loved it and we had fun and stayed up late. No eyes were shot out. No fires were started. And I made sure the hose and the bucket full of water were close by...just in case.

Kids catching fireflies...Kids with sparklers... A fountain with the moon in the background...Thank you cool neighbors...Hope you had a safe, fun and firework filled 4th of July!