4th of July

The 4th of July is on of the favorite holidays in the Bures family across many generations.  Some things have changed over time, but many have stayed the same.

The kids love hitting the pool during the day for a much needed cool off... physically and behaviorally!  Which pool we head to is always up for debate as there are three very nice options close to the farm.  The pool this year was Wymore due to its closest proximity.

What antics the kids get into each year is never lacking.  This year they tried to make a train of all of them going down the twisty slide.

They must have looked inviting because a local boy decided to try and join.  It was interesting to watch this boy trying to insert himself into whatever Avery was up to.  Sure enough... the whistle was blown and that was the end of trying other antics on the slides.

Food always is a central (and vital) feature to any get together.

Before the it starts getting dark, its outside for the parachute contest.  This year Avery hung back as the activity was a bit too young for him.  It wasn't long though before he joined.  The parachutes are never too young for anybody.

This one was entertaining watching Izzy and Amelia try to outrun each other for the grab.

After the parachute competition, it becomes the car races.  Different this year was the type of car... or airplane that was purchased.  We had no idea what we were in for.

The winner this year by inches was Victoria.  Aggie came in 2nd.

As the number of grandchildren has increased, so to has Opa's safety precautions.  This year's edition was a plexiglass shield that observers sat behind.  

One of my favorite big kid memories was being old enough to light off the fireworks.  This year Avery took on a leading role helping Micah be a part of the action.  All in all, these two boys lite the majority of fireworks for the rest of the family to watch.  This was one night Micah won't forget as he was so proud of himself.

Victoria's Snowcone continues to be a crowd favorite.

The girls tried many times to capture the bursting fireworks on their phone cameras.

The end of the fireworks is always the sparklers.  However our traditional finale (the flag) was no longer to be as they do not manufacture that particular firework any more.  So we improvised signing along with Neil Diamond.

We finished the evening with dessert.  This heralded in the era of the kids taking over the big table as they outnumber the adults.