Well, it seems like I’m not getting better at remembering to post weekly. I think it’s because we are completely off our normal schedule. So…here are pictures from 4th of July and the time after that, up until now. We spent 4th of July at home, which was so nice. We just had a relaxing day and then popped fireworks off once it started getting dark. The other pictures I have here are garden updates and pictures from our most recent trip to Six Flags.
This may become an annual 4th of July tradition. I stumbled across this recipe for Rice Krispy treats a few years ago and have decided that it’s the best one. Over the years I’ve tweaked it a bit for different holidays or times of the year, but the original is probably everyone’s favorite.The pumpkin plant has pretty much taken over the side yard.When it ran out of room on the ground because of the fence, it simply decided to go…up.She decided to dress up as Link and then decided to play with her bubble wand from Disneyland. I never know what I’m going to encounter with this one.Did I mention that on my last trip to Buc-ee’s, I got matching shirts for the family? Well, I did.Google Photos made this comparison photo and it just about knocked me flat. They were so itty-bitty! Time is a thief.Having her help him light one of the smaller fireworks.One of the bigger fireworks.She was talking to the next door neighbor kids about her sparkler.I like these sparklers because the handle is really long…and the fuse stops at about the halfway point.My favorite part of this picture is actually in the background: you can see our neighbor shooting off a Roman candle!Getting brave enough to dual-wield and move them around a bit. He’s definitely our cautious child.I sure love this man (and the kid behind us that is soooo excited about the fireworks…I didn’t realize she was in the shot until later).Paul took a weekday off and we went to Six Flags right as the park opened. It was not very crowded and the weather wasn’t too sweltering in the morning, so that was nice. This was the best shot I could get of the kid who insisted on me taking her picture.She got to ride on this ride two times in a row, without getting off, because there was nobody waiting in line.This kid was happy to get to ride some of the bigger rides without having to wait too long.This picture pretty much sums up how the ride went: Paul and Joseph smiling and me and Abigail looking absolutely terrified. We all had a ton of fun, though…and this was our last ride for the day, so we walked out to the car a lot cooler and ready to go home and change. 🙂One of our really good friends has a daughter who is now grown. When her daughter was younger, she had a couple American Girl dolls. She has been holding on to them, waiting for the perfect person to pass them along to (along with clothes). Abigail was the lucky recipient and has been playing with them all day. It’s been fun to see her imagination at work.Here she’s figuring out that putting socks on dolls is hard. I told her it was easier than putting socks on her, since the doll’s foot is holding still, haha.We have birdseed that attracts songbirds (you can see a cardinal at the feeder) and bird bath that attracts…pompous grackles. I’m sure he is just trying to spread his feathers to cool off, but it sure looks like he’s all pridefully puffed up.A close up of one of the cardinals. We have a male and a female that are in the yard so frequently that I think they must have a nest in one of our trees.Different stages of bell peppers ripening: we left them on the vine until they were purple (like the center one on the bottom). Then Paul cut them off (he was afraid if we left them until they were red, critters would be attracted to them) and let them finish changing on the counter. Yesterday we had fajitas for dinner and used them all up. They were so good!
Here’s a short video of just some of the fireworks from the 4th. It still blows my SoCal-raised mind that these types of fireworks are legal for the average person to purchase (assuming they’re outside of city limits, which we are).
