American Flags!!!

Holidays are so much fun now that the kids are a bit older; they really get into the spirit of things now. They have been doing 4th of July activities in school all week - making flags and counting stars, talking about fireworks, etc. We look for American flags when we drive around town. We put big American flag poster-board cut-outs on the windows in the living room; the other day Cate brought one to me and asked if I would help her count the stars. We got to about 14 and she lost patience; when I told her there were fifty stars she rolled her eyes at me, as if to say "Oh mom, please. That is just ridiculous." She likes counting the stripes better.

For the 4th we went to Mimi's house - she lives in Santa Ana where fireworks are still legal. She set up the kiddie pool and kids splashed around happily until dinner - a delicious feast of barbequed ___________ (insert your favorite food here - we had it all), roasted corn on the cob, fruit salad, bean salad, a million other delicious things I am forgetting. Big shout out to Karm and Auntie, the cooks - Whoot!

After dinner we had a couple of rounds of croquet. Mimi won the first round; she had a few spectacular shots that put her ahead of the pack and she road out the lead to victory. John won the second round because he cheats - just kidding. At least this year there were no windows broken.

It finally got dark and we had our fireworks show. The kids did their very first sparklers; Brian crouched down low beside them, carefully lighting the sparkles and placing them in their hands, their faces illuminated by the dancing lights. Why can't my eyes be cameras? Then the kids wrapped up in their blankets and snuggled in their little camp chairs to watch the big show, put on by uncle JD and the boys. After the show we all ate hot dogs (a long standing Trevitt tradition) and drove home through the clouds of sulfur.

Happy 4th!