Fo(u)rth of July

Even though it's not spelled with a "u". I think it should be. It just makes more sense.

Anyway, the Forth of July. Independence Day. The day we got our freedom from England. An amazing day to celebrate.

We go over to my grandma's house for dinner. Sandwiches, chips, pasta salad, and some delicious salsa. My aunt made the coolest looking drink ever.

A little science lesson. The sugar's density makes the drinks separate out and makes this creation. Pretty cool, huh. She also made this with a little help from my cousins.

Marshmallows covered in pop rocks, all on top of a twisty straw. You can't get much better than that.

My cousin enjoying this treat. It was so funny when she opened her mouth. You could hear the popping sound echoing around.

Savannah posing for a picture in grandma's garage. She has the cutest smile.

Fisher, Savannah's little bro. I love his face. My little bro is standing in the back. He could be a soldier.

This next picture is going to make you drool. If you're hungry, turn away. Now. 

Homemade Oreo cookies. The best cookies ever. I'm usually the cookie maker in the family. The day before, I had made a few batches of chocolate chip cookies (the second best cookies ever!), and I didn't feel like making any more cookies. (Probably because I was still trying to get over my stomachache from eating half the cookie dough.) 

My little sister, Annika, took over the job. She's never made cookies before, so my ma helped her. They turned out very well.

My little bro agrees with me. It looks like he got caught taking a cookie he wasn't supposed to have.

The little girls got out the Disney castle play set, and started playing with the small figures. I remember when I was much younger I used to play with this too. I showed them the secret passages and buttons. They thought I was so cool so know all this secretive stuff.

My sister decided to join them in their make believe game. She also showed them a few tricks. Who knew a plastic castle as small as this had so many secretive things?

The older kids sat on my grandma's couches having a conversation about Harry Potter and magic. Apparently they are to cool for toys anymore, as all other older kids are. They asked me if I was taking a picture. I told them I was deleting pictures. They fell for it.

Afterwards, we all went outside to watch fireworks. Since I was the oldest kid there, I was the one setting off the most fireworks. Starting off the night with sparklers and parachutes, we did every kind of firework imaginable (not really, but it seemed like it). My favorite kind is called ground blooms. The spinning ones on the ground.

I don't know what it is about these, but they are the coolest. They always spark a childish glee inside of me. This is just like any firework I see. It's funny that humans are attracted to bursting bombs of light.

Happy Forth of July everybody!!!