The 4th (Yes, as in Independence Day . . . Like 2 Months Ago)

We had various things to do on the west side and so we spent most of July over there, including the 4th. Fireworks are allowed on that side of the state in most areas and so I felt some obligatory sensation to let my kids do fireworks (meaning I bought smoke bombs, Pop-its, and one fountain . . . I mean, I like watching incredible fireworks displays as much as the next person, but doing them myself . . . eh . . . not so much).

My kids were about as thrilled watching smoke bombs as they are when I make them clean the toilet seats they pee all over. Weird. I remember them being so much more thrilling when I was kid.:) They loved the Pop-Its, but what kind of kid doesn’t love those?

Oh, and Tanner chose his own outfit so I don’t want to hear a word about it.:)

The neighbors were starting to shoot off some impressive stuff . . . not like the stupid fountain Mom bought. Okay, so I get to the firework stand and I say, “Look, all I really need is a kid friendly fountain. Not too loud, lots of pretty colors, nothing that’s going to shoot anything into the air and kill anyone.” Simple enough. They tell me which one I should buy and I do. So, here we are in my parents backyard, Hunter anticipating the awesome fountain his Mom bought. I mean, it was called something like “The Unicorn” or “Rainbow” or something like that. Had to be good, right?

And we’re off . . . luckily at a safe distance . . . because the retarded unicorn stayed upright for all of 3 seconds. Something in one of the cylinders exploded (literally) and blew the bottom right out, tipping it over. So my beautiful rainbow fountain continued to shoot . . . sideways . . . until it died.

Hunter cried when he realized our only firework was a dud. This is what my Dad did:

We were very glad that our embarrassing episode played out in the privacy of the backyard. I tried to console Hunter by telling him we could watch all of the amazing fireworks going on in the neighborhood all around us (seriously an impressive display . . . Battle Ground is a little bit firework obsessed), but to no avail. So, then I kicked myself for being a loser Mom and not buying at least TWO fountains. And the second one definitely should not have been named after any mythical beasts. And sorry, what’s even more pathetic is that this photographer has no photos of the awesome neighborhood fireworks. I was holding a sleeping baby, okay!? Plus, you’d snuggle her too if she was this cute.