Independence Day At Home

Every holiday sneaks up on me now.
But it's okay...so does every day!

We had a fun 4th of July this year. As promised at the beginning of the year, the holiday was low key and simple. We had a nice long weekend to spend time together here around the house. JC and I went on a date, we did some cleaning, we did lots of swimming (the big focus of this summer).
Monday, the 4th, we had a chill morning (not to be confused with 'chilly' morning...it was certainly not that)...then we headed to my parents' house for swimming and lunch. It was a lot of fun! We have been over there at their pool a lot the last few weeks but this time everyone joined us and it was great! The kids had a grand old time goofing off with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Laura and showing off some of their new swimming skills. (It is slow going but it is going!)
After a traditional all-American lunch of hot dogs, we enjoyed a restful afternoon then a trip to the grocery store for treats and...yes...some fireworks.
JC and I had discussed whether or not we would use any fireworks earlier in the day at my parents' house and my dad thought the conversation might have resembled fireworks...haha...gotta love a good controversy. BUT, as it turned out, we did get some small fireworks and after dinner that evening, and Family Home Evening, it was finally dark enough to give them a go.

Dinner.
Yes, dinner.
Nobody wanted anything and it was hot and we were tired.
So...cereal and berries. I took a picture because the colors were festive!

I attempted to get something really fun and interesting together by way of a lesson for FHE but...it was not meant to be this year! So, we talked about our country and the role it played in the restoration of Christ's church on this earth. We talked about why we are blessed to live in this country and we talked just a little about how the United States came to be. We watched a couple little animated movies about Christopher Columbus and then George Washington. We barely made it through Columbus and fell completely apart in the first few minutes of Washington. But...it was dark enough for fireworks anyway. :)

The kids were daring us to impress them.
Ben . . . refused to go potty even though he clearly needed to.

Then, out in the middle of our dark cul-de-sac...the magic began.

...This really just looks like something is on fire, but I promise it was pretty.

I like James' face here.

Ben is in awe.
Oh, and in addition to refusing to go potty, he also refused to turn his shirt around...or right side out. He is feeling rather independent and perfectly capable of making his own decisions lately.

Some of them were a little loud.

But, as you can see, still good.

The kids started to get a little tired.

(still needs to go)

And restless.

But then came some really pretty ones to end on!

There's your grand finale.

Then, hot, sweaty, and tired, we went inside.
Ben was still feeling pretty patriotic.
(and still needing to go)

But the kids sat down in the front room and proceeded to have conversation and be silly.

James and Bethany couldn't stop laughing (as is the case much of the time lately).

This time it was probably because Ben was dancing like a ballerina in the middle of the room.
Maybe, maybe not.

Then, somebody (what? It wasn't me...) started a game called "Wrong holiday" where we would ring the doorbell, then yell 'trick or treat!' when someone answered it. ...Sombody was just trying to be funny one time. But then everyone felt like they needed several turns and...it got obnoxious. Eh. Who you gonna blame?

Then, it was pretty much bedtime! JC and I continued watching a series called "Into the West" we have been viewing as part of our summer-long movie/documentary marathon.
See...we started watching a docu-drama (?) called America: The Story of Us last year. Then we stopped getting cable so we didn't finish it. THEN we found it on Netflix and were happy. Started it again. But THEN, I started getting excited thinking about all the other movie and documentaries there are that expand on the history (or something resembling it at least) represented in The Story of Us. SO, we started mingling other stuff into our viewing. So, we watch an episode of that first documentary (which is really good, might I add.) and before we move onto the next episode we find other stuff we can watch on the same time period and general subject matter. It has been tons of fun. We don't watch tv most nights, but maybe two nights a week we will and it has been really great having good, thought-provoking entertainment at the core of our hang-out time. It has certainly given me a new perspective on the holiday we celebrated this week. Nothing about the founding and progression of our country is perfect . . . I come away from a lot of these shows a little sick to my stomach . . . BUT there is so much to learn and there is surely a rich heritage of good people running through the core of this country founded for such a noble purpose and intention.
I am very grateful to be here in the United States of America. I am humbled and blessed by those who came before me who made it possible for me to be right where I am today.


Other random notes from this week:

Apparently James stole my camera during our scripture story time one morning.

Even though the playroom is not done being transformed, we decided we couldn't live without the ball pit any longer. We took it out to get carpets cleaned and we still have painting to do but we had to have it back.

I utilized old, spotted bananas and made some banana chocolate chip muffins.
Recipe soon to come on that other blog where I talk about food.
These are good.

It was a good week.
Just four left until school starts!