4th of July 2014

The 4th of July is always an odd holiday to me. I love all holidays and any excuse to celebrate but I never seem to feel satisfied with this one. I know it is typical to go to a parade, cookout, go swimming, and see fireworks. 1) We never go to parades and I am not even sure I would know where to find one. 2) The lake is way too busy to deal with on 4th of July. 3)We normally do a cookout so that is one plus.

This leaves us with fireworks. If we could end our day with some fireworks, I would be  super happy. One big problem is that they are so late in the evening and my kids are melting down, so the last thing that I want to do is fight traffic and crowds. The other problem is that Miller does not seem to be a fan of fireworks. Like, screaming, crying, tense, covering his eyes and ears.

Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our day hanging out with family, it just seemed so lackluster since we did not do any of the fun activities associated with this holiday. 

I could not get a good picture of them in their 4th of July outfits. One of them always looked upset but they were actually fine.

Dad preparing the pulled pork. He has 4 dogs at his feet hoping he would drop something.

Scarlett playing with my Pappaw. He loves babies!

That evening, we went to a family friends pool. My dad and Miller had a blast.

This is my kid, just watching fireworks on TV.  We went outside to see some around the neighborhood too and Miller would not move from the couch. Anytime he heard them that night, he reverted back to this position. On the plus side, Scarlett seemed to enjoy them.

 

The next day we went to my grandparents for a cookout. He loves his mommy!

Miller found a nice place in the yard and quietly played with his cars for hours. When I went out there later to clean them up, I found little ceramic frogs from an outdoor checker set. It was adorable that they completed his menagerie of trucks. 

It was a fine holiday but I hope we can make better traditions in the future.