Baby's First Fourth of July

After Millie Janalee's long nap where she wet her crib and her cute celebratory outfit, we changed our clothes (Thankfully, Maw Maw had been shopping for some patriotic baby clothes...plus what I had brought.) and headed over to Auntie Kristin and Uncie Lee's house.  Kristin and Lee are always good to host family celebrations, dinners, movie nights, and game days.  Ha!  Truth be told, Kristin does love to entertain...but she is also very allergic to animals of any kind.  And seeing as how Dustin and I both bring our puppies to my parents' house when we are in town, she kinda can't come over without her eyes turning wrong side out.  Either way, we are thankful for her hospitality and Lee's patience as he cannot get away from our family on his days off. 

Ever.

Lee was rockin' the whole 'Merica theme while Kristin was all classy Navy.

My dad already picked up Maw Maw earlier in the day when we were all playing on my parents' back deck.  Millie Janalee loved her cane.  I just try not to think of all the places the bottom of that cane has been.  Ha!

When we all arrived at Kristin and Lee's, Millie Janalee posed her best and waved her flag in front of Uncie Lee's patriotic flamingos.  Nothing says Independence Day like a patriotic flamingo.  Don't you think?  Lee was busy on the grill grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, and Kristin was busy preparing dips and fruit kabobs.  Mama and I jumped in to help where we could.  Mostly, I was watching Millie Janalee as she was in the living room with Maw Maw alone.  Think glass vases, brick hearth, lots of pottery, and electronics....combined with a great-grandmother who doesn't move fast or see well.  So, I was pretty obsolete in the kitchen.  I felt a little better that Russ and Daddy were helping with the grilling.  Or at least that was their intention.  I'm not sure three grown men need to ALL be grilling together on the same grill. 

I digress...basically, we all got busy.

Including Millie Janalee!  After a few times of grabbing her before she picked up or knocked off something fragile, I decided she may enjoy crawling around in the grass.  What I didn't anticipate was her actually crawling up the concrete steps to the patio.  Now, I'm not completely naive.  I did anticipate her pulling up on the step.  I had NO idea she would be able to climb up all four steps by herself! 

But, she did.

And we let her!

So, now I see that Uncie Lee and Auntie Kristin's back yard is now a danger zone for the next few months of Millie Janalee's life.  Haha!  I'm really just kidding.  It's not like she will ever be out there alone anyway.  Until Uncie Lee builds her that fence she asked for.  [Hehe!]

Kristin brought our appetizers outside while we enjoyed conversation, wonderful temperatures, and keeping the grill master company.

Fruit kabobs in the shape of the American flag!

Sausage and cheese plate?  YES please!

We enjoyed the delicious burgers, hot dogs, sausage, cheese, fruit, chips, and dips prepared by our hosts before relaxing and playing for the remaining hours of daylight.  The boys all headed to the driveway for a game of basketball while the girls visited, played with Millie Janalee, and cleaned up the food.

Me and my bestie

Lee and Russ

Lee and Daddy

When the sun set and our first fireworks TV special, Macy's Fourth of July Celebration, ended we headed out back for Millie Janalee to experience her first Fourth of July fireworks fun!  I mentioned to my dad that we needed fireworks for Millie Janalee's first Fourth of July.  We typically have huge fireworks shows that draw quite the crowd.  This year, Millie Janalee probably wasn't ready for that.  Anyway, Daddy jumped up and started rummaging through the coat room (or whatever it's called...that little room right off the garage before you get into the living room).  He came out with a box of old bottle rockets and sparklers from Kristin and Lee's wedding I guess.  Ha!  Works for me! 

It was time to try them out!  Russ took Millie Janalee while Pawpaw lit the first sparkler.  Kristin tried to join in, but she kept having sparkler malfunctions.  Remember, these were pretty old.  Probably not the safest idea.  Ha!

Millie Janalee's first sparkler

"What's wrong with Auntie Kristin's sparkler?"

A few minutes later, we all notice a loose sparkler flying around in the back yard.  It turns out that Susu was performing her best rendition of a raindance mixed with a flag girl from a marching band.  She was running and twirling and dancing and waving that sparkler all over the place!  Quite the spectacle.  The best part is she was doing it off to the side all by herself.

Just another day in the life of this family.

Presenting: a grandmother and the dancing sparkler

Millie Janalee was captivated.

Russ talked me into joining the fun, so I gave it a whirl.  I gotta admit, though, that my twirling and waving the sparkler was nothing compared to Susu's dancing and running around...

Once the pretties were over, it was time for the boys to play.  Daddy pulled out the who knows how old bottle rockets.  Millie Janalee didn't seem to mind the pop too much, so we stayed outside to watch the madness.  When these guys get together with anything dangerous...things get a little crazy.  It seemed that Russ and Lee were trying pretty hard to finish my dad off.  Bottle rockets ended up landing in his sandle, beside him, heading toward his head, and he was dodging and weaving all the while.  Russ and Lee claim their bottle rockets were coming off too soon and breaking off.  Hmmm...

Regardless, it was hilarious to watch.  Grown men laughing hysterically, shooting each other with bottle rockets, and yelling lots of "Shoot!" "Oops!" "Uh oh!"  My  job was to keep Millie Janalee clear of any direct danger.  Ha!

Russ

Lee and Daddy

At one point I heard a thud, and turned around to see Lee flat on the ground.  He exerted so much force getting his bottle rocket up that he missed one of those concrete steps and landed flat on his back.  I gotta say that I'm laughing out loud even as I type this!  Oh my, it was so funny!  I couldn't get my camera up fast enough to catch him flat on the ground, but I did manage to get him stumbling back to his feet.  By the way, do you notice that Lee is running around the backyard shooting bottle rockets barefoot?  Just wondering.

Millie Janalee and I had enough smoke for the night, so I took her inside to change into her pajamas before our final Fourth of July TV special.  One spectator lasted for the entire bottle rocket circus...

Maw Maw

Yep, this family can turn a quiet family dinner and televion into quite the experience.  That's how we roll...