Happy 4

Em and Roo had a great 4th of July. They wished everyone in their radius a "Happy 4 and July!"

We kicked it off with a family walk followed by brunch at our favorite place. Roo ate an incredible amount of migas and bacon. We actually left the restaurant with her teary eyed that she couldn't stay for one more helping.

After excellent naps, we capped off the day with a get-together at a friend's house.

Em wore her self out on the "jumpoline" with the big kids. Roo buddied up with the baby sister and played with everything that had wheels. She also made an impressive dent in the homemade cupcakes.

Then, fireworks. Last year, it was a terrible fail but what a difference a year makes. This year they were "spark-a-ly" and "like Tinkerbell" and "soooo beautiful!". Em watched the homemade shows blasting around the neighborhood with her hands covering her ears, eyes wide and mouth opened in awe.

As we drove home, the baseball stadium was putting on its own fireworks display. It was incredible and our timing was perfect. The girls were treated to an amazing, colorful and quiet show from the comfort of their car seats.

Fireworks Fail

We celebrated the 4th of July with Nana this year. Daddy picked up some sparklers and some other little thing that went 'pop pop pop' and we envisioned a fun filled evening of heavily supervised fireworks.

Not so much.

They wouldn't get near the sparklers.
However, as soon as one would fizzle out, they'd ask for another to be lit.
Then, they'd scream and and say they were going inside.
And inside was an option at any given moment. We certainly didn't force them to stay on the porch and endure the torture that is an Independence Day celebration.

The poppers were an unmitigated disaster. In no way did we intend to replay that drama soaked scenario.
But, Em pulled some more out of the bag, asked sweetly, assured us that she knew they went 'pop pop', and asked again to set them off.
So, stupid us, we did. J and I are kind of slow.
It's the part I didn't put on the video clip. Because, that just ended the festivities right then and there.
Total.Fireworks.Fail.