There are lots of reasons to love July 4th... Celebrating the 'birth' of our country, fireworks, family time, good food, patriotism, my birthday...Oh yeah, did I mention I have the best birthday EVER?! This year, we had many good times at my parents, only missing Char and Aaron :(.
Along with the gorgeous, funny, energetic nephews and all the family time, the most memorable moment of the weekend came on Sunday night. We had been shooting off fireworks, going through the bottle rockets, Roman candles, fountains, sparklers, etc., until we had it narrowed down to the mortars (the big ones that shoot way up and then explode in a huge way). Keep in mind that by 'we', I mean Nathan, Sam, and Caleb. The rest of us were pretty much watching. They were down to just about the last mortar and asked if any of the rest of us wanted to do the honors. Kate decided to give it a go.
By this point, it was quite dark outside, and the fireworks were being lit at least a good 30 feet away from us. We couldn't see the mechanics or specifics of the lighting of the fireworks, just the results. Kate walked over to the fireworks, received a moment's instruction...aka, "Make sure the flat end goes down", and then she was set free to light it on her own. Kate lit the firework, and as she walked away, both Sam and Nathan seemed to notice something odd simultaneously. "Um, Kate, did you put that in a tube???!!!" "No, was I supposed to?!"... I've never seen the group of us dive for cover faster, with the boys leading the way.
After the firework took off in some random, yet to be discovered direction and the heartrates slowed and breathing was restored, the laughing began! Poor Kate didn't know that the firework required being place in a tube that serves as a launcher! I doubt not, nonetheless, that she will be hearing about this for years to come!
Happy Independence Day one and all (even a day late). May you recognize the sacrifices that have been made in others' lives for your freedom and ability to have this great land to live and thrive in!
