By the time we got home and had put Kaitlyn to bed, the rain had stopped and we headed out back for some sparklers, smoke bombs and a couple of small fireworks of our own. There's just something about sparklers... I'll never grow too old for them. And they are one of my favorite things to photograph. ;) In addition, one of my favorite first memories from this house was all the lightning bugs that illuminated our backyard that first week of June when we moved in two years ago. Well, they were a little late arriving this summer but they were at their peak for the 4th of July - so in between sparklers, the boys had fun playing catch and release with our favorite bug. :)
And then an impromptu fire to burn some boxes that had arrived in preparations for Kaitlyn's upcoming birthday!
4th of July morning...
...when your baby sister steals your iPad. ;)
We decided to head to the Shellrock parade for the first time ever The boys enjoyed catching a lot of candy, but it was hot! And after a while we decided we'd seen enough firetrucks to we snuck out a bit early. ;)
Kaitlyn deserves to be in a parade of her own. That girl has the cutest wave I've ever seen, and she knows right when to use it, too. :)
We came home, let sweetie get a nap in, and prepared our home for the grandparents' arrival and Papa Bob's birthday celebration. It was a quieter 4th of July this year with the cousins across the pond in England and the heavy humidity settling in outside, but we still made the most of it.
Cody made the most delicious smoked pork ribs - they were perfection - and after dinner we headed outside for some splashing and water play in our own little makeshift water park. The boys had a bit of a squirt gun fight, threw some water balloons, and Kaitlyn learned how to stand up in her baby pool.
After cake and after putting Kaitlyn down for the night, we decided to skip fireworks, finished off our own sparklers, and sat on the back patio with Cassi, James and Ivy who were fresh home from the airport that night.
