The Kassel Family Project Life 365

Two kids all ready for Camp Mudd!  It’s Swim Day!

Andy shot off the last of the fireworks for the kids tonight.  John chased down a parachute that, um, landed on the neighbor’s car.  Do not fret as there was no damage to the car.  I thought it was funny though and, of course, I had to take a picture.

Then, we watched the kids chase down the streamers from the spider web fireworks.

We still have a small stash of fireworks, but all the major things are now gone.  It is really the end of another Independence Day.

Another successful Sunday with everything accomplished on my “to do” list!

We were supposed to go join the Van Hove family at the Lake of the Ozarks today, but only the Kassel men went.  Laura was not feeling well and she was tired and grouchy and grumpy and…  Well, you get the picture.  So, once I convinced Andy to take John and got them on their way, I made Laura lay down for a bit and she promptly fell asleep.  After a short nap, she woke up in a much better mood though she still wasn’t feeling particularly well.  I let her watch a movie and resting for another couple of hours made a pretty big difference in her mood and attitude.  Because she was doing better, we went out to dinner at Red Lobster for crab legs.  While eating dinner, Laura mentioned that she learned all about the movie “Jurassic Park” in her EEE Dinosaur class and she asked if we had the movie.  I told her that we could watch the movie when we got home, but it might be slightly scary for her.  She said she would be fine, so when we got home, we watched “Jurassic Park” together.  Despite grumpy Laura for most of the day, it turned out to be a very pleasant Mom-Daughter evening.

And in case you were wondering, Andy and John had a fantastic time at the lake!  It was a win-win all around!

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays.  Celebrating our nation’s birthday and enjoying the day with great friends, food, drinks, and fireworks.  The “usual crew” was there to celebrate with us as we had a great time in the beautiful July weather.

The day began with some baking.  John decided that he wanted to help make the mini apple pies.

After an early dinner, everybody arrived about 6 pm for the festivities.  We were joined by the Lowerys, the Hendersons, Dan and Megan, and Jeremy.  Everyone brought appetizers, drinks, and, most importantly, fireworks!  Between us all, I think we had something like 500 dollars worth of fireworks.

We began the celebration with eating good food and drinking good drinks.  I made White Wine Sangria for Rachel and I to enjoy.

The kids played for a bit and then enjoyed setting off some Snap and Pops.  I couldn’t resist this “make my day” picture from our kids.

In between all the running around, I managed to make Laura, John, and Alia stop long enough for me to snap my favorite picture of the evening.

As the sun began to set, the fireworks picked up.  In between the men shooting off bottle rockets and various other fireworks, we released a couple of lanterns.

Then, in between more bottle rockets and fountains, the kids got to enjoy some sparklers.  I am not completely sure, but I think Laura is enjoying herself here…

Alia and John were having a great time waving sparklers everywhere.

We spent the rest of the evening shooting off lots and lots of mortars along with some of the box “finale” sets while watching fireworks going off all around us.  It was another great 4th of July spent with great friends!

One of the kids’ favorite days has arrived…  Fireworks shopping at Bob’s Fireworks!  Andy and Jeremy took the kids this evening to get our stash for tomorrow.  John spent time looking at a lot of different things.

As always, we have Sky Lanterns, mortars, sparklers, etc.  Laura is holding “I Love USA,” which is 33 shots by itself…

After sitting around our outdoor fireplace for a bit, Jeremy decided he had to “test” a mortar (or two) to make sure they were acceptable…

We have a lot to look forward to tomorrow night!

…Andy and I spend a beautiful, summer evening in July.  With wine, a fire, and me in my sweatpants and sweatshirt (and I was still chilly!)…