Good times.

Man, so I get all sentimental on the Fourth. I just can't help it. I don't realize that it's creeping up on me, and I don't expect it. But, by the end of the night, I always find myself full of gratitude.

July 4th is my gramma's birthday. So, every year, the whole family gets together to celebrate her birthday, as well as partake in all the Fourth of July festivities. The thing about my family, though, is that we get together for EVERYone's birthdays. I mean, party after party after party. In September, there's not a free weekend. Seriously. I always enjoy the time we spend together, but there's just something special... something extra about the Fourth. I guess it's because it's the Fourth, eh? Genius, aren't I?!?

Anyway, it's like, we sit around for HOURS upon hours... lazy day. We swim, we eat, we have a Yahtzee good time, you know? With mosquitoes & sparklers & sunscreen & berries... embarrassing the teenagers of the family with the Thriller dance... It's just too much fun. And, then after we've passed enough time & the sun has set, the fireworks get going. We all sit gazing silently at the sky. Together. You know how silence can be so awkwardly blaring most of the time? But, then, when you reach a certain level of comfort with someone, silence can be so... so serene, so peaceful. And, it's in the silence of the Fourth that I suddenly find myself feeling so overwhelmed with gratitude. It's like my family, my big ol' crazy family, embodies a feeling of camaraderie in that moment. Nothing has to be said or done or whatever... I just know they're there. I'm sure it all makes no sense, but I get it. It's the best I can do to verbalize it.

From there, I move on to feeling so thankful that my family is afforded so, SO many freedoms because we live in America. I look around at my family & my daughters & realize that life is good.
My most favorite time of the night is when we're in the car headed home shortly after the fireworks show. I love the traffic. I call it the if-you-build-it-they-will-come traffic. (Ask Curt. I say it EVERY year. And, no, he doesn't get tired of hearing it, either.) I just love knowing that everyone else is out celebrating the same things as me. I love having the drive time to reflect on it, watching the sky all the while knowing that I'll see at least 20 more random fireworks on the way home. Good times.

















These last four are nothing super fabulous. I didn't come prepared... no tripod, no nothing. I just wanted to capture the numbers...