Independence Day

We thought a lot about going out of town for the 4th of July this year- specifically Branson, MO.  But, it has been so crazy stressful around here for a while that we decided that a long weekend at home, with the kids, no driving, sleeping in our own beds- was just the ticket.  I'm so glad that we did.  It was a super-great break from everything.

Thursday morning we attended a flag ceremony and Independence Day breakfast at the church.  We love breakfast, and Nathan hadn't stopped talking about it since he heard the announcement on Sunday- so yes- we got up early on the holiday and headed to the church!

After breakfast all the primary kids did a parade.  They each decorated their bikes, scooters, etc. and did a few laps around the church building while the parents spread out and cheered.  Nathan raced his friend around until they were both flushed and super sweaty!

Hannah was also wanting to participate, so we decorated up her motorized  "princess truck"- and she lead out in the parade.

She was quickly lapped by... everyone, but it was fun to see all the kids having such a good time!

We came home for some quick naps and then set out early that afternoon to find a fireworks stand.  We purchased a whole bunch of kid friendly things and a few daddy's favorites :) but shockingly they were all legal out here in Oklahoma!

We came back to the house and let the kids to the kiddo ones while it was still light outside, knowing that it would be a late night after a show etc.  Daddy showed Nathan how to use a punk, and he was off lighting flower blooms to his little heart's content!

 Even Hannah got to try her hand at lighting a few things, with mom and dad's help, of course!

I taught Nathan the joys of tank wars :)

And we discovered that neither of the children care for the noisy fireworks!

An all-around favorite: colorful smoke bombs- go figure!

And to top it all off, of course we had to do some Roman Candles :)

Next we headed into Tulsa for what it touted as one of the "best fireworks shows in the nation"- and it did not disappoint!  The kids were pretty excited about the other festivities leading up to the show, including a giant hot air balloon :)

And, Jeremy found a little bean bag toss that did not have a monstrous line :) So we played that until it was time to set up camp and enjoy the show.

I did not take any pictures of the show cause we were all snuggled in a heap watching it, but it was great.  Afterwards, we headed home and lit off the few remaining (daddy-size) explosives and called it a great day.

I put the footage into a movie, but it's pretty much un-edited snippets of our day.  Still a good glimpse of the festivities, though :)  Enjoy!