glow sticks and fireworks

hendrix enjoyed his 4th of july fireworks alot more this year than he did last year!  the fireworks were the night before in ames, which worked out really well because then we left for our family vacation early in the morning on the 4th and got to enjoy the festivities all over again in galena, where we were vacationing.  

we had some friends over to our place since we can just walk the block and a half to the park and have a great vantage point for the light show.  we had to get decked out in glow stick jewelry before we headed though, and hendrix was so happy to be hanging out with his friends!

hendrix took a random three-hour nap in the evening before we woke him up for the late-night fun which i think made a big impact on him enjoying the fireworks.  he is used to going to bed early and i was worried that he might have a meltdown otherwise.

while he was cautious, he was daring enough to hold onto the sparklers.  of course it looks like fun if the big kids are doing it!

i had made some red, white and blue strawberries to enjoy while we waited in the park, and i was glad for them as they made a nice refreshing treat on that hot, hot night.  once the sun went down it wasn't too bad, but up until that point i was just sweating.......

so once the show started, hendrix alternated between sitting on my lap, and snuggling up on the grass with his friends.  he didn't cry or act scared of them at all.  he even oowed and awed at his favorites, and clapped at the end like everyone else.  daddy had shown him some youtube videos of fireworks before we went, and we thought it might help him appreciate them better if he was prepared.  

he loved using the word 'fireworks'.  and kept saying, "mommy, look!"

daddy took some pretty cool photos of the fireworks while i was busy managing little guy, and i think they turned out really cool!

what a fun kickoff to our little family vacation!   

more to come on that soon.....