The best part 'bout bein' a TEXAN on the 4th of July is...

that any and all type of fireworks are legal. Both Brandon and I have lived in many states and I must say that there have always been laws, laws, laws, to get in the way (I know, we need them in UT, CA, and AZ to prevent massive fires.) Although, it was nice to just drive down the street to buy Roman Candles, artillery shells, the professional grade exploding colored fireworks that you only see at firework shows, and so on.

I have so many fun memories of driving up to Evanston with my dad to purchase a few of these illegal fireworks. We always had the best firework show in the neighborhood and everyone would come to join. I guess every year except for one year when our neighbor set the mountain we lived on on fire. Luckily, the fire wasn't too big and was out in no time.

It was so exciting to bring back all of those fun memories with Brandon as we drove around to several firework stands this past week, especially the night of the 4th as we lit fireworks with our friends; and the excitement that filled the air as we saw each one go off.

We started the 4th off early that morning having a yummy breakfast with the Boyer's at the Johnson's house. Mike made a yummy dutch oven breakfast in the smoker...and Sarah made homemade syrup and pancakes. The only problem with this breakfast was the fact that I headed straight to the gym right after and got a little sick from eating such a yummy heavy meal. Thanks Johnson's the whole morning was a great way to kick off the 4th.

After searching for the final round of fireworks we headed to the Boyer's for a little swim celebration, ate KFC, and started the real excitement...the firework show performed by Brandon, Lance, and Mike. The funniest part of the evening was the grand finale which costs us $100.00. After shooting out two little sparks it was done. The dad's were not satisfied with this and for the next hour tried several experiments in blowing it up. Finally at about 10:30pm Brandon found the wick. They supported the box with flowers and tanks and lit the wick. The fireworks out of this $100.00 box were finally worth it. :)

Early that afternoon I made this "Flag Cake" by Ina Garten. It's a really yummy recipe that you can find on the Food Network. I used strawberries because that's what I had but, the recipe calls for raspberries. :-)

Happy 4th of July!!