Fireworks

The 4th of July is probably my favorite of all holidays. It is supposed to be nice weather and it's perfect for family gatherings of BBQ, games, and fireworks. This year, we had a really great 4th.


Since Chris and I both had the whole day off, we lounged around in the morning which was really nice. At lunchtime we tried out our new bike rack on the van and drove to Dawson Creek Park for a family bike ride/duck feeding. It was pretty hot outside, but we had fun. The kids really loved the ducks and we even stopped for a bit under a tunnel and let them dip their toes in the water. Afterwards, we hit up Sonic for some tasty lunch.

In the evening we went to my Brother in laws house for a BBQ dinner. There was tons of food, and everyone had a good time relaxing. The kids were super anxious for the fireworks to start. Unfortunately, in Oregon it doesn't start getting dark til pretty late (after 9). We let them start out with some sparklers first. Neil actually got the hang of it. He would hold it out with a straight arm and not move at all. It was cute. I think we confused him though about fireworks being a hands on sport. Once we transitioned to the other fireworks he wanted to participate. (ie he wanted to hold/light/be right next to them) Obviously, this wasn't going to work. So after chasing him and holding his wriggling body, eventually he and I ended up in the van to watch the remainder. We still had a good time, and we were even able to see some of the illegal ones that were lit off around us. Hopefully by next year he will figure out the observation thing.