This past 4th of July we were fortunate enough to spend with some family.  One of my husbands cousins and his family anyway.  We had a great time, with lots of food and fireworks!  Hubbys' cousins mom lives about an hour and a half from us.  He and his family drove to her house and we drove down to meet everyone.  It was really nice. Haven't been able to spend the 4th with family in so long.  So any family was nice.  Even if the majority of them weren't really family. It was nice to be around "a" family! 



What was really great was the son unit had lots of other kids to play with. Mostly boys, so he was in hog heaven, after being pretty much the only boy in the house and the neighborhood.  There is a little boy that lives across the street from us most of the time, (divorced parents so he splits his time between mom and dad) but he is my boys age. So when he is home, the boy has someone to play with.  Lately though, he hasn't been home much.  And with the girls still being in California, my son hasn't had much of anyone to play with lately.  So the 4th was really awesome for him!  He got to be an honest to goodness boy!  Play football, blow things up, and get really dirty!  Okay, so daddy and his cousins had just as much fun blowing things up as the little boys did watching them.  But hey, they are all boys no matter their ages! 



Those boys!  Started off small, then worked their way up to bigger booms!


We had these awesome rockets, that when fired up into the air, a little parachute guy exploded out of the tops.  These boys loved chasing them down. Each boy was able to collect a parachute prize!

Wait for it...
There!! Run, Run!!





Ahh, the treasures that were found!!


And the things that were blown up!



My little boy stuck to his daddy like a shadow...

When he wasn't leaping across burning hot lava, trying to escape from the demon alligators!

The adults had just as much fun with sparklers as the kids did! 




And the big boys.  Well lets just say, they weren't exactly being impeccable role models!  Warning: do not try this at home!

I sat back, and watched as my family, and new found friends had a blast! (Literally!)  I tried to work on my techniques of photographing fireworks.  But like last year, I forgot my tripod... boo!


Eventually, I just sat back and enjoyed the show like everyone else.  We all sat around and watched the big boys pretend they were part of some high dollar pyrotechnics outfit, swatting at the mosquitoes that were eating us alive, and ducking from the bats that were eating the mosquitoes alive!  I found it hard to pay full attention to the fireworks, because the fields surrounding this awesome country farm house were absolutely infested with firefly's.  That in itself was magnificent to watch!

I did however at one point, during the sunset happen to glance over and see this. 

With the purple sky, and the fireworks going off in small town America for as far as our eyes could see.  It was an awe inspiring sight.  The house we were at was basically right in the middle of a large circle of small towns.  From our view points, we could see the fireworks displays of each town.  Plus any neighbors in the area that lit their own.  Plus ours.  This was the perfect 4th of July celebration. The kind you read about in books, or might imagine seeing in a Norman Rockwell.  Sitting in a backyard, in the middle of corn fields on some back country road in Central Indiana.  Now if that isn't hick country.. I don't know what is! And I love every minute of it!
And I truly remembered what this holiday is about.  Freedom!