The Fourth

We had a good Fourth of July. We headed to the neighborhood pool for a few hours, then at 5 we came home and made a LOT of food! Hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob, potato salad, watermelon and all the requisite barbecue fare were fun to have. Zach had to have a shower afterward because he had watermelon juice running down his legs.
Ryan set up a canopy thing in the back yard so we could have some shade and eat outside.
Then we made ice-cream. We used a Rival ice cream mix (just add milk) but added pureed and small chunks of strawberries. It was a little heavy on the strawberries, actually, but it was so yummy! We all ate way too much of it, then packed up our camping chairs and began a hunt for a good place to watch fireworks. Zach, however, told us that he didn't want to go, that he was tired, and he just wanted to go to bed. Well, it was 9 o'clock, which is bedtime. But what kid doesn't jump at the chance to stay up late and see fireworks?

We've never been in Meridian for fireworks, so we didn't know where they'd be shooting them off. We made a guess and headed that direction. Unfortunately, while we were getting in the car, a neighbor lit a firecracker. Zach's hands clamped over his ears, and we could not pry them off!We found a pretty good spot to watch fireworks and settled in to wait, still trying to get Zach to calm down. Finally, I asked him if he'd like to lay down on our picnic blanket in the back of the Jeep. He happily climbed in, and was asleep within minutes. He missed the whole thing!
The fireworks were fun, and Jared shouted lots of things that made us laugh because he sounds like an adult. I had fun snapping away pictures, since last year I was visiting my brother in Dallas and didn't take my tripod. It was my first real chance to shoot fireworks with my DSLR.
We hung out in our spot and enjoyed the evening while the traffic slowly dissipated, then drove home while watching all the illegal fireworks that lit up the sky. Jared was hyped up, but Zach never opened his eyes, even when I lugged him out of his make-shift bed and into his car seat.

Ooops! I almost forgot to add the link to the other photos, here.