This year's Back Yard of Fire actually had fire! We've had a very wet, very mild summer. In fact, on the 4th the high was only in the low 80's. There was a slight breeze and it was so very pleasant.
In other words, the polar opposite of last year's Back Yard of No Fire inferno.
We had a great time this year, and not just because of the weather. We had a lot of great people join us. And these great people brought some great food. Great food + great people = great evening.
Last year I had bead necklaces for the kids, which went over very, very well. This year I decided to do pinwheels. These did not go over as well. Dang. But don't they look festive?
I also made festive cookies. You wouldn't believe the battles I had to fight with Cole - the little sneak tried every trick in the book to steal those dang cookies before the party. (I know, I should be flattered. But really I was just annoyed.)
Because the weather was so mild it was just a bit chilly for playing in the water. Not that this stopped my and many other children. Poor Cole was shivering within the hour!
I had found a slip-n-slide on clearance the year before for only $2.50. Score!
As per usual I didn't really get any good pictures of people this year. Mainly just generic shots of everyone looking awkward while eating. You're welcome, friends! (Hey look! The Sister missionaries came for a bit!)
Miss Tess in her third or fourth outfit of the evening. Seriously, the girl could not stay out of the water and/or mud. Nor could she keep those fingers out of her mouth - poor teething girl!
Lance and his fellow pyromaniacs. (The guy to the left of Lance is not Tad Colver. It's his younger brother, who just happens to look exactly like him! He actually lives in Korea, but was here on a visit. He was supposed to be on a plane going home, but he missed his flight and got to spend the 4th with us. Fortunately, we were serving A&W Rootbeer, the one thing he claimed he really wanted to drink while here in the states. Also? He apparently has a sordid childhood history when it comes to fireworks. He was in his element helping light them all! Bad luck missing his flight? Kismet, I say.)
Just to prove you were here, Smiths, Hartwells, and Hansons!
The Tate family brought a ton of their leftover fireworks and sparklers, which we used first. The kids LOVED this.
Our neighbor, Justin, with a sparkler. See that blur behind him? That's the only picture I got of Josh the entire evening. (At least he got a blur - I'm not in a single shot!)
Yes, that's my oldest son in just a bathing suit holding a stick on fire. Yes, after this I did tell him to go put some shoes on. No, he did not listen to me. And no, he did not get burned. (He got super lucky, because there was all sorts of craziness going on up on the hill!)
There's Cole, also in just a bathing suit. The fire on the ground? He had picked up some sort of sparkler he wasn't supposed to pick up and the end fell off. Yeah, all the dads were at the top of the hill but none of the moms (except me). Not so much supervision going on. I think next year we will need to be a bit more proactive in that department. (Just after this shot I manhandled him down the hill to get some shoes on the boy.)
This year we put lights up with the pennants. I really liked them!
Someone's child playing with fire. Because that's how we roll in Indiana.
This year Lance did a great job in buying awesome fireworks. The pictures don't do justice to just how big some of them were - we're talking professional sized. They were HUGE! Even better? Our neighbor to the south - the one with the pond whom we affectionately call "Pond Guy" - also had a ton of fireworks! It was like getting two shows in one! At one point our guys and Pond Guy were battling it out over who had the best fireworks.
We kinda worked Pond Guy over.
It was awesome.
The grand finale included a rather large firework that started coming back to earth before it exploded. It exploded really close to us, producing lots of screams and a general rush of adrenaline from the crowd. Ack! Fortunately, all lived to tell the tale. (There were no injuries.) We found powder all over the place, though, including our food tables, my garden, and the swing set. That thing was LOW.
This morning while I was being the worst mother in the world and making my kids help pick up all of the fireworks detritus I discovered stuff all the way over in our neighbor's yard - two houses down. (I'm sure they just love us now.) I'm pretty sure that's a sign of a great fireworks show!
So mark your calendars now and let us know if you'd like an invite for next year. Lance is already making grand plans!
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