happy fourth

we didn't have any specific plans for today. we did some things around the house and had a big feast of a dinner. we ate so much that we took a walk to check out the fourth of july celebration at the high school. we haven't felt the need to go since we can see the fireworks from our house. this year there was a live band which the kids enjoyed during our walk. it was such a lovely evening we almost wished that we were there!

daddy (in the white shirt) and the big kids raced around this old track at the school for fun.

manning opted to wait with me and cheer them on. so, of course, i took some pictures of this ham.

by request, we made this "raw strawberry pie" with "lemon-scented coconut whipped cream" (by the way, it sounds way fancier than it is - the easiest recipes!). it is a frozen pie and very refreshing after our walk. the kids and i made it yesterday and they have been drooling in anticipation ever since. they really, really, really wanted to cut into it last night.

we had the kids get showered and ready for bed before we went out to watch the fireworks. once outside they filled the waiting time hunting fireflies as the suggestion of uncle josh.

the firefly hunters

can you see their catches in the container?

and then the show started! (well, the real show. our neighbors behind us were already putting on a pretty impressive show.) manning fell asleep right away on my lap and missed most of it. maddux was crying about the noise and kept going into the house. mason was concerned about the thick smoke hurting our lungs. i have never seen fireworks totally obstructed by their own smoke! it was sort of cool. the wind was just blowing our way. and i pointed out to mason that the smoke was very high above us.

fireworks were so much more enjoyable with the cool weather and very few mosquitos. we just love being able to watch from our driveway too. we are spoiled. love.