Fourth of July Fun!

Fourth of July has never been one of my favorite holidays. I love the reason for celebrating, but when it comes to the actual celebrating, I'm always a bit hesitant. Maybe it's because of the constant banging and booming of fireworks for at least 3 days leading up to it, or maybe it's just because I'm a worrier by nature and I just know one day my kids or I will be hit by a firework or my house will happen to just burn down. Whatever the reason, I tried throwing it all behind me this year and actually had a great time! Because of the old saying, "if you can't beat them, just join them," we decided to do a little pre-4th celebrating and join our good friends, Troy and Kim and their two girls for the Emerald Downs fireworks spectacular. Now, I'm a little ashamed to admit, having lived here my whole life, but I'd NEVER been before (can't even say if I've ever even heard of it). Leave it to our friends, new to the state, to point it out to us! It was pretty darn good, to say the least. Kennedy squealed in delight the whole time and Pieper hid her head in my arms the whole time afraid (like her mother) one my just freakishly come hit us. Poor girl. Her little heart was beating like a race horse (get it?!?). The actual day of the 4th proved to be even better. What's better than surrounding yourself with your whole family, talking nonstop and eating even more??? We spent the majority of the day at my parent's house where we were able to walk just yards down the street see The City of Newcastle's fireworks show and enjoy a pretty darn-good band. The kids had a blast dancing, being with their cousins and of course, the fireworks. And yes, I even had a good time too.

Here are some favorite photos from the day: