4th with the Family

When holidays roll around, I get a little bit homesick...no family around. And typically most of our friends travel to visit their families. To make things worse for me on this holiday, we really did not have a plan. I was somewhat comforted when we finally made the decision to spend the day at a local amusement park, a day that would culminate in a fireworks show.

And we did have a good time at Lake Compounce. There was a perfectly patriotic ride the kids had never been on before. It wasn't a huge hit, but it was a great photo venue.

The kids enjoyed riding all of their favorite rides.

And they cooled off at the water park and filled their bellies with unhealthy snacks.

Unfortunately, the amusement park authorities decided to postpone the fireworks show because of a 30% chance of thunderstorms. (Of course, these thunderstorms never happened; I'm sure there will be the same chance of thunderstorms on Friday when they plan to go through with the show.)

We had a pretty good evening anyway. The kids played in our backyard.

First, there was Bocce (or Boules as we called it in Africa).

And there was badminton.

(Jacob consulting with Audrey to give her some pointers about her game.) 

"Real" fireworks are illegal here in CT, but just like in GA, people just drive over to another state to get the good stuff. Unfortunately, we didn't have time this afternoon for a trip to NH, so we picked up a box of the tame poppers that are permitted here.

There was quite an assortment:

We were all so sweaty and filthy, we went ahead and did our show before it got completely dark. The boys took on the task this year of helping run the show.

There was one stubborn one that would not light...until Michael threw a rock at it, and then it sparkled on to the ground.

The rest sparkled very well, however.

All in all, I would rate this 4th of July memorable as far as family time goes. Not so much on the patriotic party atmosphere...I think I'll start planning for next year.