Happy Fourth of July!

We had a terrific Independence Day! We got a late start in the morning since we spent the night before waiting at BOOM CITY for their HUGE firework display that ended up starting at 1am. It certainly was worth the wait, but boy were we tired!

The morning started with fireworks! Yes, the kids lit several fireworks even before breakfast was eaten! Dele had to DJ a party in the afternoon so I asked him to do all of the fireworks that I (as an overprotective mom) would not like to do alone if he were to not make it back from the party. The boys thought it was great! I distracted myself by going to help Heather, my cousin, set up chairs for the parade downtown Arlington. It was so weird driving down the main street lined with hundreds of empty chairs waiting for the parade - ours being among them!

After we finished our first round of fireworks and got everyone ready, we headed over to my cousin's house for a BBQ. We had such a great afternoon visiting, eating and watching the kids play on their huge water slide! Dele was with us for a while before he had to leave for his party.

The kids had a terrific time sliding down the gigantic water slide! It was very fun watching all of the cousins play together!

After a wonderful BBQ, we all headed downtown to the parade. It's been a long time since we've been to a parade and how much fun we had!!! The kids weren't so sure, but once the candy started being thrown at them, they decided parades were pretty fun!!!

Derek is hoping to make the football team this upcoming year in Arlington. He's been going to the weight room twice a week to lift and play some ball with the others. Last Thursday, they asked for volunteers for the parade and he didn't sign up. As the float rolled by, the guys recognized Derek and hollered at him to jump on the float with them! Wow... who would've guessed I'd have an Eagle in my house?

After the parade we went home to finish our fireworks. Derek had gone to BOOM CITY with Jeff and got a huge amount of very big fireworks! He could hardly contain his excitement! He put on quite the show for us. The kids did some sparklers and I tried to remain calm so I could enjoy the show!

The beautiful sunset from our neighborhood definitely helped keep me calm and enjoy the evening! Thank you, Derek, for a great fireworks display! It was awesome!