4th of July (more painful than it sounds)

Merritt here… Mandee is taking a short blog posting vacation (this is code speak for folding clothes and telling me that I have to post to the blog because she seriously cannot be expected to do 2 things at once).  For the past several years the family tradition for the 4th of July has been to gather at my sister’s house to have the firework show (better their house than our’s due to the “less than legal” status of some of the fireworks involved in the celebration).

To start the evening off, we have the incredibly questionable idea to have an impromptu football game.  If you know anything about our family, you are well aware of the extremely high level of chubbiness and slowness athletic ability that we have.  Does this sound to anyone like it would really be a good idea?

Man… those little guys are a lot quicker than they look!

For future reference… if you happen to find yourself in a friendly game of football with Chase… keep your distance.  It can be seriously hazardous to your health.

You will most likely end up like this.  I was crying on the inside and the outside.

Continuing the theme of pain and embarrassment… Alex decided that it was finally time for him to start riding motorcycles.  That sounds like a great idea, huh?  Move over Evel Knievel.

Everything was going great until, in Alex’s words, “I got a little too cocky.”

If there is something that our family does really well… it is clumsy.

On a brighter and much less painful note, the family 4th of July party also doubled as a birthday party for Chloe.

Seriously, those are some cute kids!

Finally, it was time for some pyromaniac fun.  Have you ever tried to simultaneously light sparklers for more than a dozen kids with a propane torch without injuring yourself?  Well, Uncle Shay has.

(Except for the part about injuring yourself.  Good luck with the burns, Shay.)

Sam was in the zone…

Maggie was really excited…

That is… she was until the loud booms and flaming balls of destruction actually started.