The Fourth of July has always been a big deal at home. One year I missed the festivities and was nearly deleted from the family will. However, it's not something I would want to miss, because I can't think of anything more American that eating lots of grilled food, exploding things and then complaining when you have to wait in between fireworks.
It is our tradition to gather, eat, and then head down to the pond to explode however many hundreds of dollars we overpaid for Chinese fireworks (which is something I've recently been examining the irony of to a great extent). The manicured pond provides a lovely location to celebrate our nation's independence from those darn British folks.
We are a family of traditions. The Fourth of July, Christmas Eve, post-Thanksgiving shopping trips in Branson - these are not things you mess with. It's also a tradition to take a group picture every year.
There's always a lovely selection of food to eat at our festivities. Here you see the tasty fruit creation my mom made. Isn't it pretty? I think I forgot to try it, though.
Karen also makes a tasty sangria. I didn't forget to sample it.
Dad usually quietly grills the hamburgers. Hey, it looks like he's eating a piece before everyone else. His innocent grin may fool you, or perhaps he was just sampling it to make sure the burgers were cooked correctly. 
In addition to cooking a feast, mom spends hours manicuring her lawn.
We have several who partake in the 4th festivities. This kid, Braxton, won the award for the holiday's most injured participant. He also fed several pounds of carrots to the horses. But, he was one of the cutest. Just look at his little cheeks!
Once at the pond, we shoot off the silly fireworks that just make loud noises and aren't really that pretty. For some reason this year, our supply of large, beautiful, the make-your-neighbor-jealous fireworks was somewhat insufficient. But, the good thing about being down at the pond is you can see fireworks displays all over the valley. It's safe to say the neighbors beat us this year, but we still had some pretty ones.
Plus, we had Riley, who wondered the pond bank with her Light Saber that she got at the rodeo. Her patriotic head wear was also a nice tribute to our Founding Fathers.
Basically everything on the West Farm is John Deere made. Apparently, folding chairs are no exception. "Nothing Sits Life Deere" was an expression I believe I heard in regards to my mom's chair.
In the days leading up to the 4th, we enjoyed the tranquil surroundings at Karen and Mike's pool.
We were entertained by the talented Riley who can wear like 45 inner tubes and walk on water.
All was nice, quiet and relaxing at the pool...
Until Graham, the prosecuting attorney and pool punk showed up.
We hid inside the inner tubes to shield ourselves from the forceful blasts of his water gun. Even with my stealth-like maneuverability, I still fell victim to the pool punk's blast.
Stay tuned...I took some other "unidentified" pictures while I was home. But until then, I leave you with this...
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