Erica's Thoughts: Fireworks!

Well, July has nearly come and gone, which means I'd best update my blog about July 4th and 24th before I completely forget. Forgetting is bad. Which is why I bother updating my blog at all. The older I get, the more I realize that things just kinda blur together after a while so that you can't really tell things apart anymore.

Anyway, the 4th of July was a lot of fun. We had a BBQ, as usual, at Wes and Liz's place before lighting fireworks on the street. It's become quite a fun family tradition, and I look forward to it each year. Of course, next year Phil will be there, so he'll probably end up in a bunch of pictures. Lucky him. Anyway, we use Wes's grill to make kebobs, burgers, veggie burgers, or whatever strikes our fancy and sit outside and enjoy the heat while eating it. This year, Grandma C came along because my aunt and cousin were off on a river-rafting adventure without her. It was a lot of fun having her along.

Violet wasn't a fan of the fireworks, though, so she said goodnight early and went to bed before it was dark. And, unfortunately, Lydia was in California with her dad. Eating breakfast on the beach, the lucky girl... (I am so not jealous. Nope.)

Here's a picture of Kyle smiling. Wow! He does smile! He and Adelle had fun blowing bubbles. Grandma's in the background having fun as well.

Adelle was very anxious for it to get dark so she could see some of the fireworks go off. I couldn't resist snapping this picture.

Adelle stole my camera!

I stole it back! Just kidding. We actually made a whole bunch of faces at each other and snapped pictures of them.

Aww, Devin and Lexie caught holding hands!

Adelle is apparently having a great time.

I took some picture of fireworks on the 4th, but I think things would be a bit too crowded with all of the pictures I took. So you'll have to trust me when I say it was fun and there were a lot of pretty sparkles to watch.

Mom and I got to watch Violet a few weeks later and I couldn't resist taking adorable pictures of her. She was in a very good mood.

Violet loves her blanket!

I told her to smile and this is what she did. Adorable, no?

I might have possibly encouraged her to do this... This is half of Lydia's Easter egg. Violet now thinks it's a pretty spiffy hat.

Pioneer day, July 24th, fell on a Sunday this year. Which was fun, as everyone was able to make it. Yay! Mom made delicious sloppy joes. Pioneer Day is the day we celebrate Utah. On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young and a bunch of other pioneers first entered the Salt Lake valley and decided to settle here. I can't really imagine how desolate it must have looked, but it's amazing how hard they worked to change the desert into what it is today. We celebrate the 24th the same as the 4th--with fireworks!

Adelle was very excited again.

Violet had a lot of fun out in her playpen for most of the afternoon. Which is good. Here's a picture of Liz taking a picture! Woo!

Lucky Violet got to play with some snaps for the very first time. It was adorable watching her play with them. For your viewing pleasure, I've uploaded a video of it.

The fireworks came with poppers and little guns to use during the day. Lydia is holding one in the picture above. She decided to time Adelle running around the house in flip flops. I've got the video below.

Adelle wanted to play with the slow-burning sticks used to light fireworks. Devin, as the awesome uncle of the day, decided to help her.

Aww. Quality bonding over fire.

We decided to try some fireworks before it actually got dark as Violet kinda got fed up with being outside without running around like a maniac with her sisters. She lasted through a few before she decided it was time for bed. Lydia got to light fireworks for the first time ever! She did most of them throughout the night.