myfriendkathleen: Fourth of July and the Fifth!

Happy Independence Day!

Kyle demonstrates his special technique: lighting the sparkler in two places, bending the stem and twirling!

I'm a flower!

Kyle decided to purchase some fun fireworks "with his own money." We had a "blast" in the backyard on the 4th! Sparklers are still my favorite!

Kendall's camera had some interesting settings~ her sparkler-heart looked very different from ours!

Happy 5th of July! :)

Logan loves going ANYWHERE with us! Especially when we're all together!

This time of the year is so BUSY! The 2nd is Kendall's birthday, then there's the 4th of July and if it happens to fall on a Sunday, then we celebrate on Monday the 5th. Grandville has an AMAZING Independance Day celebration! The parade has over 130 entries and we enjoy the craft show, the entertainment, and of course the socialization! In past years the kids and I were in the parade for the Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts. This year Kyle was supposed to march with the High School Marching Band but he pulled a muscle in his back hauling some rocks in the backyard. He has a "marching horn," a mellophone. Through the concert year he plays a French Horn. He's very good and enjoys it. I think Kendall's REALLY glad the orchestra doesn't march!

We saw some wonderful friends (Ella and Ian Curtis-above & their mama & dad) and a NEW friend: Ava Faith!

After the parade & craft show we chilled out at home for a few hours (it was almost 90 degrees!!!) I made a couple of dishes (see the Recipes~ page): Quinoa with Chard Salad, Quinoa & Cranberry Beans, hummus with greens and a veggie platter. We went to Marnie, Bob, Ben & Erin Walski's house. We met Cathy, Mike, Taylor and Nick Burns there and we had a great time. The kids took turns doing tricks off the diving board.

YUM!

CHEEZE!!! Kyle, Ben, Nick, Erin & Taylor!

YEAH TAAAAAYLOOOOR!!

NICK!!!

AIM...DIVE!!

GO ERIN!

GERONIMO!!!

The perspective makes it look like Taylor has MAGIC hands!

Kyle bravely holds Mike Burns' BIG candle!

We had burgers, hotdogs and lots of tasty treats. Marnie had brownies with ice cream and hot fudge sauce for dessert. The kids enjoyed sparklers and fireworks in the driveway. I showed Marnie and Cathy how to take a photo without the flash so the sparklers leave a beautiful trail. Then we watched the Grandville fireworks from poolside. They were beautiful as usual, but for the first time that the Walski's can remember, the wind was just right and we had firework ash blown all over us! It was very disconcerting~ like fluttery bugs randomly lighting on us.