4th of July Fun

This is the first 4th of July in about 5 years that I actually got to enjoy fireworks - yay for kids that are growing up!  4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays, but since 2008 when Lane was a baby, I've had to peek at the fireworks out the window or "hide" from them with a scared toddler.

We started with the fireworks show in York Tuesday evening.  I really wish I had remembered my camera - the kids were so cute!  We went swimming beforehand so that they didn't have time to get grumpy.  By the time we headed to York (about 8:45) Katy was pretty sleepy.  She tried to take a little nap on the way, but Lane kept jabbering too much.  Once we got there, they did great!  We met my parents, Bret and Laura, and Craig and Christine and kids and "tailgated" in the parking lot of the fairgrounds.  We all brought lawn chairs and blankets and munched on popcorn, sugar cookies, M&Ms, and Twizzlers (thanks, Laura, for satisfying my Twizzler craving!).  I was a little worried how Katy would react to the fireworks.  I "prepped" her for them all day by saying that they would be loud, but we could cover our ears and just see how pretty they are.  She did great!  We were far enough back that it wasn't loud at all and they really were pretty!  Both kids thought the fireworks were a lot of fun.

Wednesday evening, Craig and Christine invited us to their house for supper and more fireworks.  We weren't sure if we'd stay real long since the kids were beyond tired from the night before...but we ended up staying until just after 10 (the TV has been my friend today!!).

Boys and fireworks...need I say more??

We spent about $10 on "daylight" fireworks for Lane...smoke balls, parachutes, snappers.  He thought everything was so much fun!!  He would get so excited and start talking in his deep voice with all the hand motions.

Craig lit off a "giant" parachute tube...so everyone lined up to catch them.

Turned out to be a handful of parachutes that were all tangled together...and landed on top of the house.

Katy wasn't too sure about all the loud noises and boys running everywhere!  When I asked her if she was having fun, she replied, "Yes.  Toys.  Bret."  She likes being around her uncles!

She was much happier playing with trains and all the toys inside.

By the time we finished our homemade ice cream, it was almost dark out so we decided to stay for the fireworks...

Katy was a little more apprehensive about these fireworks (closer means louder!) but as long as I covered her ears, she was fine.  I'm pretty sure Lane enjoyed them, but by that time he had discovered more toys and was pretty busy with a combine and auger wagons.  But he jumped at the chance to play with the sparklers!

After that we loaded up the kids and hustled them home to bed!  Unfortunately, neither one really slept in this morning.  Looking forward to an early bedtime tonight...and Lane's already talking about next year's fireworks!