Happy Fourth of July

I love the Fourth of July. It is a fun family gathering involving explosives and food. What a better combination? Today we started the afternoon with a few tank wars. Andrew was jumping up and down with excitement.

We also set off smoke bombs in the driveway.

We had family come and join us here in Apple Valley this year. There was a small family fair before the show started. We got to win some stuffed animals and play at the park.
The kids got to ride some crazy old rides...you know the kind that look like they were made in the 50s. I am not sure they would still make a ride like this...
It seemed to have a WW2 theme. Kids sitting in forward and backward sitting bombers trying to shoot each other down.

Ryan and I rode the rocking ferris wheel

It was slightly creaky and Ryan enjoyed freaking me out by rocking our car back and forth. Good times. (Emily took this picture. I think it is pretty cool).
Earlier in the day we had a rain storm come through, so that cooled down the temperatures. We brought chairs and blankets and set up camp for the show.

We had fun visiting and playing around before it started.
It was not this cold though. Some people are slightly dramatic.
I have this guy trained to stop and smile for a picture mid-sentence.
It was a clear night and our view was completely unobstructed. Look at the tiny moon in the corner. Some of the fireworks seemed to be right over our heads. The grand finale was of course the best part. It was fabulous. The whole thing gave me chills...and they were not from the cool temperature : ).

We ended the night with a few fireworks outside our house.
The sparklers were a smokey hit though.
We were pretending to have magic wands. Here Carol is passing on some magic to Nico.
I hope that everyone's had a great 4th!