I'm Gonna Call the Po-lice

We had a great 4th. We have a tradition with best friends of ours, Bob and Carole. Every year on July 3rd we go to the lake front and watch the fireworks, never being disappointed. This year was no exception. The fireworks were awesome and so was the company. On the 4th, we invite Bob and Carole and their boys, Joe and Matthew over for a cook-out and blast off a few fireworks of our own. I usually go to the firework store and pick out some of our favorites, however, this year I waited until the last minute (I completely forgot with everything else I had going on). I could barely get into the store, and didn't have a lot of time, so I only made it up the first isle. I took what I thought was pretty similar to what we usually get, knowing that we are somewhat limited, living int he city and also trying to be respectful of our neighbors. I got my permit and got through to the checkout line pretty quickly and didn't think much more about the purchases.

When the time came to blast off the fireworks consisting of basically showers of sparks and a few fire crackers, we all anxiously awaited while Bob and Paul got everything ready to go. It's always been amazing to me that when you witness fireworks in your own yard, it can be just as much fun as the fantastic show they put on at a park, or by the lake front. I guess something about setting them off by yourself is exciting even if they are only sparks and a few crackles. Well, you can imagine our amazement when the first fuse was lit. We all heard a "woosh" and up it went like a rocket at least 100 feet up in the sky and broke into a beautiful full blown firework. Hearing no complaints, we decided to pace ourselves and blast one every 5 minutes or so, so we would more or less blend in with the noise of others around us.

Paul always gets a bit paranoid when I buy these things because he never knows what's in store, and he's a bit afraid of fire. Actually, he's extremely afraid of fire. He blows out candles if I have them burning in the house. Perhaps it's because of his aunts barn he burnt down to the ground when he was 11. I don't know...Anyway, the rest of us were determined to have some fun. So, we blasted off the twelve remaining fireworks we had. Then we decided to blow off the last one I bought which was a cluster of just 16 showers of sparks and crackles. Not... I really had no idea that these were a cluster of 16 fireworks that lit up our little piece of the sky and I had to admit in my head I was saying, "How do we make it stop"? Too late, that one brought out the neighbors along with the threat of one angry man calling the police. Good thing that was our grand finale. After wishing him a Happy 4th, Paul got rid of all the evidence and we had a blast (no punn intended) making smores and sitting around the fire. I can't wait 'til next year... Below are a few of our very own...