*** Fireworks ***

For as long as we have had Kyra in our lives, she has spent the 4th of July with her mother. This year is full of changes though and her staying with us is one of them. I am super excited to share this (one of my favorite holidays) with her. And Bella is getting old enough to understand the whole concept of fireworks- not necessarily Independence (although she exhibits it beautifully) but we sang Happy Birthday to America and celebrated with some ice cream at Culver's with Auntie Karla and Grandma Nana while Daddy was at work.

 

During the girl's nap-time at my parents, Kyra and I drove to the Red Rocket out on the bay and took a little look see at what they had. The weather here in the Midwest has been so dry and hot that there is currently a burning ban so we definitely have to careful about what we are burying and setting off. And don't worry--- we didn't but this huge rocket that kyra is holding but we did pick up some sparklers, snakes and those little snappers. On our way into town for the fireworks we dropped the baby off by her Daddy who was more than happy to stay inside in the air conditioning and put her down to sleep. I would have had them both come along but we like to sit out by the McDonalds near BayBeach and I am such a worrywart about all the cars and my little speed-demon that I figured its just better for her health and my sanity that the littlest bambino stay home. We grabbed some glow sticks when we were dropping off Via and mommy remembered the bug spray (thank God) cause those suckers were biting like crazy... it was hot... it was sticky... and we were happy. The show started right after nineish and within like seriously eight minutes the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. I was totally certain that we were going to have to run and find cover like in "Twister" when that tornado comes busting through the outdoor movie screen. But lucky for me this was not the case and we were able to enjoy the rest of the color display in general safety. I say general because Bella and Kyra were experimenting with fire--- but before we jump to conclusions let me explain. I was showing them how to throw the little snappers (which the exhausted within less than five minutes) and then we moved onto the snakes. Which at the time that we bought them I was totally reminded of when AJ and I used to sneak outside in the summer with a pack of matches and light them on the driveway (like Dad wasn't going to notice all the burn marks on the cement). I think it was in this happy and reflective moment that I burnt my finger and have since sworn off snakes (of any kind) especially cause once I got that b*tch lit--- I remembered that they are actually pretty boring. sigh. Now that I was good and crabby we decided to move onto sparklers (honestly in my top 10 favorite things of all time) and ended up having a blast. I had all but forgotten about how crappy the snakes were when I accidentally burnt myself with the lighter whilst trying to light Katie's sparkler off of my own... I figure it was just a little "zaP" from God to remind me that this type of thing doesn't happen everyday and to enjoy it while I have it... and I sure did.