Independence Day.

Celebration wise, the Fourth of July isn't really that big of a day around these parts.  It's not that we're ungrateful for our freedom--we are!--it's just that we tend to celebrate the holiday a little bit earlier in July.

Or, in this case, on June 29.

We're at the mercy of the city of Auburn here, folks.

It actually worked out pretty perfectly.  Auburn celebrated on a Saturday, so nobody had to worry about getting up for work in the morning AND the weather was slightly overcast (a little rain in the early evening) and COOL!  I'll celebrate in June all day long if it means I don't have to sweat!!!!

We started the evening, per tradition, with dinner and playtime at the Boozers'.  This year, we ate all things fried:  okra, wings, nuggets...the guys had the fryer working hard.  Add fruit, veggies, chips, hot dogs, sliders, cookies, and cupcakes and we ended up with a pretty rockin' meal.

We headed into Auburn around 8:00 or so to get ready for the big show.  I think it's safe to say that Auburn's "Prelude to the Fourth" is probably the only time you'll ever find me in an Ingles parking lot. :)

The big boys:

And the big girls:

Emmy, with her first of fifteen dum dums:

And Thatch, celebrating his very first Independence Day:

Granti, DB, and Auntie met us for the show, too:

And here's a rare photo of the mamas:

 We hardly ever get pics of ourselves.  I'm thankful for this one!

Ingles made a fortune off my husband.  I've got to hand it to them, though:  it sure is convenient to be able to run inside and purchase whatever you need (in this case, sparklers).

We had such fun celebrating with our friends and family.  We were far enough away that while we had a good view of the show, the noise of the fireworks wasn't loud enough to bother anybody.  Emmy LOVED seeing all the colors in the sky. :)

Happy Fourth of July, friends!!!!  Hope yours was as much fun as ours!

The First of July.

Because Barrow County marches to beat of its own drum, the annual Auburn fireworks show was held on Sunday night.  And because it was "crazy hot" outside, we opted out of the Auburn Festival.  The kids were slightly disappointed (they asked about pony rides and tractor/train rides) but more than enjoyed themselves at the Boozers.  In the air condition.

And I made Nutella cookies.  That were awesome.

We waited as long as possible to leave for the fireworks (we'd parked a couple of trucks earlier in the day) and, wouldn't you know it, the bottom fell out of the sky just as we pulled into the city.

We hung out in Big Red as long as we possibly could and decided to call it a night around 9:20.  The show started at 9:25.  Go figure.

We'll still have a chance to see fireworks in Lilburn on the Fourth, so I'm not too disappointed. 

My favorite part of the day, anyway, was hanging with my friends, stuffing my face, and enjoying the cool indoor air, so I fell alseep with a smile on my face.

Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day.

Because we did it up big on Sunday, our actual Independence Day was pretty low-key.

Ben grilled up some fantastic (stuffed) burgers, I made my specialty (macaroni and cheese), and we topped it all off with brownies, ice cream, and some very special fireworks (some small, car-shaped firecrackers Ben picked up at Publix).

We were thankful to have Granti, Auntie, DB, and Tyler join us for dinner, too!

But very, very sad to say goodbye to TyTy until December.  We miss him already.

Ben and I ended the evening with the kiddos by performing all the patriotic songs we could remember as pre-bedtime entertainment.

God bless America.

The Third of July.

Ain't no party like a Barrow County party...

We celebrated Independence Day on Sunday with some good friends and family, too.  We started the party with a cookout at the Boozers, followed by a trip to downtown Auburn for the festival and fireworks.

Granti, Auntie, DB, and Tyler met us at the festival, and the kids had a great time walking around and, of course, riding the train and the horses.

We headed back to our AWESOME parking spots (seriously...we had a great view!) with about half an hour to spare before the fireworks.  We killed a little time with sparklers, which Harris and Hadley loved...

...until Babe dropped her sparkler a little too soon and ended up with a slight burn on her leg.  Thankfully she ended up fairly unscathed, but my drama queen sure is enjoying letting everyone she meets know how about the "burn on her leg from her sparkler."

Our little city always puts on a great show, and this year was no different.

The kids LOVED every second of the fireworks...no tears, no holding of ears...just lots and lots of "wows" and "cools" and "the rainbow ones are my favorite!"

They were my favorite, too.

Happy Fourth.