Fireworks and Freedom

Oh how I love the month of July! Honestly, the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I don't know exactly what it is but there's just something about the whole day. Whether it's a heightened pride in this great country, being with family, eating watermelon and barbeque all day long, or the thrill of the fireworks at night, there is just a pleasant, carefree feeling in the air on this day (and pretty much through the whole month in Utah thanks to the 24th celebrations too). I was so excited to introduce Sawyer to this holiday and all of the wonder of it. This year we celebrated on the 3rd, since the 4th was a Sunday. We met up with my brother's Scott, and Mike, and their families at the good ol' Kaysville parade, my parents where having a rough life exploring Europe for three weeks...much to my mother's dismay. Then did a swim and b.b.q. with them at my parents. We parted ways in the evening for fireworks at different events.
We took Sawyer home and did a few sparklers with him, put him down to bed and watched the Layton and Kaysville fireworks from our back porch...we have a sweet backyard. On the actual 4th we got to know some of our neighbors better through explosive pyrotechnics. One neighbor, I won't mention who, got a truck load of fireworks and firecrackers from Evanston a couple of years ago, so we were fortunate enough to be privy to the lighting off of the last of his stash. Sawyer thought we were all nuts but did pretty well with it all and actually seemed to enjoy much of it...even the endless strand of "Chinese" firecrackers that shook the entire neighborhood. Hurray for the dear ol' U.S of A.!