independence day

This is the first year in all of my years of living in North Idaho that I remember partying downtown to watch the fireworks. Nathan came up from Moscow and Mimi and Daniel tagged along with us to fight off the masses for a good spot to watch the show.

The Fourth is one of those holidays that just sneaks up on me. Well, honestly, it feels like everything this year has caught me by surprise. Is it just me, or does time pass quicker the older your are? That is the lamest. But such as it is, this year was a good celebration.

Usually we buy a ridiculously small amount of fireworks from a booth and have a little powwow in the front yard followed by an hour of sitting on the back deck watching the neighbors' illegals and the city shows on the lakes nearby. But this year, we walked on the boardwalk, shared a Gooey at Dockside, and crowded ourselves together on the steps at Independence Point by the resort to watch the sky light up. The booms of the fireworks were so loud that we could feel them burst. But man, being right on the water was probably the coolest.

Never mind the fact that once it was all over it took us eight million lightyears to crawl our way out of the parking lot. Hashtag i hate crowds.

(PS am I the only person that always wants never mind to be one word? I feel like it should be one word.)

We are so blessed to live in a country with so many freedoms. We are so blessed to be in Idaho. To have cars. To have beds. To be able to sit on the beach with half the city and enjoy the bright lights of the firework explosions. We have been given so much, and it is such a privilege to experience life in a beautiful country. Happy Independence Day!

And now, the fireworks from the perspective of my iPhone. You're welcome.

the fourth! and things

I remember when I was younger that our neighborhood put on an annual fourth of July parade. Us kids would deck ourselves out in the patriotic red, white, and blues and ride our bikes on a predetermined route through our familiar streets. One year TheKeeper even ran into a mailbox using his head as a battering ram. We're still not sure why.

But then we moved away and grew up and forgot about our small community parade filled roots. We weren't in another parade until this year - TheMechanic marched in the big parade with the young marines. Basically because he's made of awesome. But he's related to me, so I mean, really.

And also I had to make up for last year's awkwardly horrible fourth of July "celebration" that didn't exist. I was with PC and I had to watch the fireworks by myself from his parking lot because he refused to turn off his video game and come outside with me. But such was our relationship, video games often came first and foremost in his life.

This year, however, this year was way better. We started off the night with dry ice bombs, which are simply put, the most awesome things ever. Especially when put inside a santa clause melon and blown to smithereens

Shortly thereafter we transitioned into our small fireworks display in front of the house. It consisted of a plethora of ground hogs because they are mom's favorite. They spin around on the ground like crazed tansmanian devils. We like to light off multiples at a time and watch them duel in the street. And we intersperse them with twinkly fireworks that make you go "oooooh" and "aaaah" as is tradition.

At ten o'clock on the dot the fireworks display booms loudly just beyond the tree line and down by the lake. Sitting on the back porch we have the best view, plus we're not fighting the massive crowds for standing room only observations. It was quite a night, actually. For just around fifteen minutes our backyard sounded like a war zone, but only the fun kind with pretty lights and no dying. It was quite possibly one of the best fourth of July celebrations I've ever been part of. May next year be even more fun!