July 4th

It seems that every year on July fourth I am on a mission to find the perfect location from which to watch the fireworks display. All the usual places around town offer a great view but there is simply NOTHING like being directly underneath the display and feeling the ground shake beneath you. I experienced this twice prior to having kids, once in El Segundo where they put on an AWESOME fireworks show and you can lay right in the middle of the streets around the center town park and look up at the display, and once at Torrance Park when I was a kid. Thus far, I have not been able to replicate that experience for my kids and although they enjoy watching the show each year, they really have never been in AWE. That changed this year. First off, we did something that we have never done before. We bought a few fireworks in Las Vegas and brought them home to do here in our own yard. Due to ALL fireworks being illegal here, we have never had them at our disposal. This year My Honey just happened to return from a business trip on the 3rd of July and he flew into Las Vegas. On his way out of town he stopped at a corner stand and bought a few sparklers and fountains. The kids thought this was the coolest thing ever! Muffin Man was afraid of the sparklers at first but once he got the hang of it he would have done them all night if we had not run out. The following night we drove down to Laughlin, to the Avi Resort and Casino. I had heard they give a GREAT show so we thought we would check it out. We we able to get a nice spot on the grass along the river. They shoot the display off from the opposite side of the river and the river is not all that wide in this area. Essentially, they explode right over your head! Oh My Goodness! For the first time ever, The boys were mesmerized! Little Man kept saying the ground was shaking and Muffin Man did not once ask if it was almost over! The whole thing was choreographed to patriotic music and it was just beautiful. I am so glad we decided to make the drive and I know that we will head up there again for future July 4th celebrations. I have included a number of pictures. There are a few of the boys both at home doing sparklers and at the river with the obligatory $5 glow sticks, and a few shots of the fireworks themselves. I was just playing with my camera to see how they would come out and some of them are really beautiful. Anyway, enjoy and God Bless America!