We started out the 4th with a bang. Red, white, and blue donuts from Krispy Kreme is never a bad place to start. The kids were excited to wear these oh so fashionable 4th of July thingies they made at craft time at the library.

Except for Claire. THIS was about as much excitement as she could handle:









This year we ended up staying home for the fireworks. We didn't plan it this way, but as we were climbing into the van to go find a great show we realized our own neighborhood was pretty darn good.



Since our kids seem to have NO tolerance for loud noises it was PERFECT.


Two of the upstairs bedrooms face the street. From their windows we could clearly see 5 great firework shows in the air and 3 down on the street in front of us. I tried taking pictures so you could see just how good we had it, but my camera just kept focusing on the dirty window. Dang automatic focus.


No one was crying because of the noise, no one was complaining of the heat, kids were already dressed for bed, and the toilet was right down the hall for maximum convenience.





It was pretty much a mom's dream. Let me further explain.

When their legs got tired, I had chairs.







When Ty got cold, (don't ask how that works in Vegas in JULY) I had a blanket.







When Claire got scared, there was a place to hide.








When she got crabby and tired, there was a bed!





No excitement lacking. Those faces say it all.








And best of all, when it was all over they fell into bed and that was that.