Fourth of July was a simple day with our little family. There were no big home improvement projects and no weekend crammed with lots of entertaining activities. We started the day with fishing. We have been fishing with the kids before and you would think we would have learned the importance of having all the poles ready to go with hooks and all; but I guess we haven't. Spencer was bored out of his mind waiting for Grant to get the poles ready and was asking to go home before we even started. Our fishing experience was looking like a dud which isn't good when you are trying to get the kids excited about fishing. After trying our hand at fishing we decided to try a different spot and see if we would have any luck. I am so glad we did! As soon as the kids put their poles into the water, the fish started biting. Each of the kids were able to catch a fish and they were excited. Spencer wanted to stay longer and keep fishing; my how things can change. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing different games out in the backyard. One of the games we played was croquet with kick balls. I used pool noodles and stakes as the hoops for the balls to go through; our feet were our mallets, and playground balls were our instrument of choice.
After our round of croquet it was time for water balloons. I never have really done water balloons and so this was all new for the kids, and Spencer found his new best friend. We tried target practice but when the chalk got washed away we needed a new target; this is where Daddy came into the picture he just seemed to be the perfect target.
After water balloons we headed to the community center to go swimming in their indoor pool. The kids like the pool and I like that I don't have to worry about the heat with Madeline. We swam for about an hour and then we headed home to rest. I really liked the quiet afternoon. No big projects, no assignments, and no where to be. It was nice to rest and relax as a family. For our dinner we had hot dogs, chips, and watermelon from our garden. For our fourth of July treat we made brownie kabobs. I used brownies, strawberries, blackberries, and jumbo marshmallows. The kids really enjoyed assembling their own dessert.
After dinner it we decided to join the rest of the area and go see the fireworks. Madeline is fearful of the sound from the fireworks and so we stay in the car to watch them; it just works better for our family. We just found a spot on the side of the road to pull over to see the fireworks. The idea was that we could simply leave when they were done and avoid the traffic mess. Well that idea flopped. The fireworks were only 10 minutes away but it took us an hour to get home. Getting home at 11:00 with tired and cranky kids from sitting in completely stopped traffic for an hour was not how I wanted my relaxing holiday to end. We decided watching the fireworks from New York on TV is the way to go. The fireworks are set to music, we can have all the treats we want, there is air conditioning, and most of all no traffic. I think fireworks on television is what we will do next year; the hassle with a bunch of crazy impatient people all trying to get home from celebrating our nations birthday is not how I want to end my holiday. Besides we can control the volume and that makes everyone in our family happy!
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