'Murica!

FREEDOM, motherf***ers!!!

Seriously.

Everyone gets a little more patriotic on the Fourth of July (though technically that dates holds little historical significance, believe it or not - go ahead and look it up.)  What's not to like?  Fireworks, good weather, an abundance of non-subtle conservative overtones?

Hanging out with Bailey at Nana and Papa's (sans Papa)

Occasionally, you're forced to throw on your red, white and blue warm-up pants a day or two early, due to city planning and scheduling convenience.  That was the case this year in Clare.  We opted to check out Clare's firework extravaganza opposed to Midland's this time around, even though Midland's was bound to be bigger and significantly more 'Murica' (seeing how it's a bigger city and all); with all the people crowded into the downtown park area, checking out Midland's display was bound to cause some congestion-related headaches.

So. . . here's how the Houghs celebrated the not-quite-anniversary of our nation's meek tantrum against the British Crown:

Like every other time we stay the night at my parents' house in Clare, we took full advantage of this pool.

Cousin Blake.  Bein' Blake.

Our kids LOVE swimming.  Despite the fact they can't swim.

Super shades.

Kris

Leap of Faith

Watson barks at anything that splashes.  He's an asshole like that.

Once the kids got cold swimming outside (what can I say, they're Florida babies), Cindy opened up the hot tub for 'em. . .

Dad and Cindy's basement

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

The girls like to pretend they're in the 'Moon Pool' from Mako Mermaids, one of their current favorite shows.

Despite the fact that Dad and Cindy have prime seating for viewing Clare's fireworks from their back, second-floor balcony (the city shoots them off over nearby Shamrock Lake, some 200 feet away, thereabouts), my nephew and I decided to blow some of our own shit up this year. . .

As a treat for the kids, Cindy opened up a bottle of Sparkling Grape Juice. . . only, right off the bat, it was clear that something wasn't right with it.  No carbonation, a funky smell, etc.  Curious, I looked at the bottle, and, sure enough, the bottle was expired.  As of 2004.  So, more or less, I'm pretty sure we fed a bunch of kids bathtub merlot.

Snacks and fancy cocktails Sprite.

Explosives never go out of style.

Bailey makes his move

Hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob = one hell of a patriotic kids meal.

After dinner, while Blake and I amassed our explosives for the evening, Kris took the girls over to Grandma Jordan's place to decorate Murica cookies (I can't go over to that place, as she has cats in an apartment, and I'm deathly allergic to the little S.O.B.s)

Combining craft time with sugar?  Hands down Abby's favorite past time activity.

Trying out Grandma Jordan's Inverter. . . 

Some coloring on the porch

Bunny ears.  Again.

Once it got dark out, Kris brought the girls back over to Dad and Cindy's so they could light up sparklers while Blake and I continued to shoot off rockets in the lead-up to Clare's firework show.

As previously mentioned, we had prime seats for the evening's firework show - they shot them off right on the other side of that tree line you see here

Not pictured - Watson and Bailey.  They both disappeared for the duration of the show/

Happy Birthday, Murica.

- Brian