The following is a conversation that I had with Crappy Boy and Crappy Baby last night.
Have a safe & happy 4th of July to all the US folks who celebrate.
(Have a safe & happy July 4th to everyone else.)
Over the next three days the plan is to head to the beach, pack picnics, see live music, eat snow cones, go to a pool party and watch two firework displays. And do a red, white and blue craft project. Or seven. And bake cookies. And a pie. And make ice cream. And go to the library and check out books for the kids about the 4th. And travel across the country to see the Declaration of Independence in person. And enter a national hot dog eating contest. And sew the whole family matching patriotic outfits.
Actually, as long as we see some fireworks and eat something frozen we’re good.
How do you celebrate?
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Also, thank you so much for all your excitement and kind words about my book news last week, your comments absolutely made my weekend! Most of your questions (like exactly when you can pre-order, book tours, international availability) are ones that I don’t have answers to yet. But I’ll let you know more in the coming months. Thank you!
We usually buy some fireworks so our celebration lasts all week! Especially when we are camping, which we aren’t this year. 🙁 Next year!
I miss being able to buy fireworks and set them off ourselves! Illegal here. 🙁
I don’t think I’m doing the fireworks this year with a 2 year old and 6 month old fireworks don’t mix. My mom roll take 7yo daughter to see the fireworks, I’ll do some kind of holiday craft this week.
I always make a red, white and blue cake with berries for the red and blue and frosting is white and that is about as far as it gets in our house. We can see the fireworks from my sister’s backyard so we head there on the 4th for a cookout. Happy 4th!
This is the first year that I *think* all the kids will actually enjoy the fireworks and not be scared!
Good luck! We got a pair of ear protectors for my eldest son and that really helped. It was the loud noise that scared him. The two younger ones love fireworks!
My 3 yo son thinks flushing the toilet is loud – he covers his ears every time. I think we’re skipping fireworks this year!
We love Independence Day! It is a huge celebration in our small Texas town. LOL, we even have a hot dog eating contest!
LOL, fireworks are WHY we celebrate the 4th! Exactly right!
Fireworks and spontaneous vomiting — those are our traditions.
Happy 4th to you as well! Our boys 20 months and 3.5 yrs and they are all about the fireworks. We can sit on our front porch and see three different sets of fireworks so we have a great hook-up! I think I’ll make dirt cake. It’s a 4th of July tradition. Finish it with crumbled Oreos on top that look like dirt, then get some gummy worms. The boys love it!
I’ve seen those but never made one. My kids would love it, I might have to surprise them one day.
With the fire we have here (Colorado Springs), all fireworks are cancelled and we’re told the -no personal fireworks- rule will actually be enforced this year. It’s totally understandable, but still sad. 🙁 I have no idea what we’re gonna do now!
You can come down to the wet and wild water parade in Pueblo West (Take I-25 south to exit 108 from the Springs) in the morning and they are still having city fireworks in Pueblo West (they were awesome last year) and in Pueblo. PW is having lots of activities in town all day to fill in the time in between. 🙂
This is such an awesome invitation! If we were in Colorado, we’d totally go to Pueblo!! 🙂
Lol you are a woman after my own heart with your ambitious list! I daydream about being that productive each season and then promptly do the bare minimum too!
In our neck of the woods we go to the local fair that has rides and carnival games then at night we see fireworks over the lake.
The 4th is this week!?!
Exactly!!!!!! LOL
Think I spent a bit too much effort on the “blah blah” historical review last night (darn history/poli sci double major). My 3 year old keeps asking why King George was mad at our “decoration” and the 6 year old wants more detail on General Washington’s military strategy “really mom, how did he fight the soldiers??”
Focus on the cook out and fireworks already.
Lol @ the matching patriotic outfits!!!!
Happy 4th of July! Or for me, happy July 4th. 😉
In Canada our celebration is pretty much exactly the same, but three days earlier and with only red and white (no blue).
We spend July 1st camping, going to beaches, at barbecues, eating snow cones and other carnival food, and of course, watching the fireworks. I bet it would look pretty familiar to most of our southern neighbors.
I love how their little faces go thru the emotions from interest to confusion to plain you-just-killed-a-potentially-cool-holiday-for-us to jubilation about the fireworks LOL.
Your illustrations are so funny. But. I’ve always wondered:
1. Why does Crappy Boy wear a dress?
2. If he has to wear a dress, why does he only own one colour?
3. Does Crappy Baby’s nappy always need to be the colour of yucky poo? Or is that like a poo-disguise?
The nappy colors are always different, this one is a bright yellow on my screen though. Can’t explain the blue or why Crappy Mom always wears purple dresses.
Maybe crappy boy is wearing a cutie romper?
1. I think it’s just a generic “outfit”. Remember, the pics are crappy.
2. Everyone always wears the same colors so you know who’s who.
3. See answers 1 & 2.
Yep, this.
You should put crappy boy in purple one day LOL
The only Simone I *know* in my escape from reality (internet) would be asking for purple rain…. 😉 LOL
Please, my daughter and I will be asleep by the time fireworks start. Especially since I have to work the next morning. But do enjoy yours and have something frozen for me!
My mom’s birthday is on the 4th of July so we typically go to a baseball game on the 3rd or 4th and watch fireworks and eat stadium food! If it is on the 3rd (like this year) then we hunt down more fireworks on the 4th. and there is usually watermelon involved somewhere as well.
About 5 years ago, my neighbor and I joined forces for a 4th party. We have waterballoon wars (yes pluralized for multiple one the same day),silly string wars,crafts,food, swimming,ladderball tournemenets,food,fireworks,glow sticks,necklaces and all other glowing junk. We have made it a neighborhood party, and the fun runs through 3-4 backyards, school yard from noon through fireworks. It is always a blast (pun intended). Since my husband and I are both soldiers (I retired in Oct.) this is our holiday. It is one of the best parties all year. Just how we roll!
Wow, that sounds fun!
We are going to the Peach Festival that occurs every 4th in our small town. 500 people explodes to 10,000 complete with parade, arts and crafts, food, peaches, and fireworks. We live close enough that we walk to the festival but are far enough away that we can leave the house and not deal with pedestrians being in the way.
We have a really cool park by the water nearby, and we spend the day there. At night, they have live music and fireworks.
Happy 4th!
I don’t celebrate because I am British and live in the U.K. However, it is my middle sons 7th Birthday this weekend so we’ll celebrate that!
Happy 4th July! Enjoy yourselves & stay safe. 🙂
Too dry for fireworks! Probably do smoke bombs and sparklers.
I am living in Mexico, trying to explain to me three year old daughter that we were going to celebrate the 4th of July. After my explanation her eyes got huge and she said,”Guess what Mama! Today is my birthday!” Three year old logic, celebration=my birthday. Hahaha. Made me laugh out loud.
I’ll be working on the 4th of July, as I do every other year. My tradition is that I’ll sneak a couple of my patients down to the ICU waiting room to watch the fireworks. It’s on the 5th floor and has a panoramic view of dozens of different communities’ fireworks displays. It makes being stuck in the hospital a little more bearable for my patients, that’s for sure!
We haven’t done anything yet as mine Are to little but we’ll probably grill something and definitely eat watermelon.
I love how their little heads hang lower and lower and they look so sad. I can totally picture my kids doing the exact same thing as I ramble on and on .. . . LOL
Have a great Independence Day!
This is so funny, and so true! At church, I talked to the little kids I teach about the 4th of July and why we celebrate. They all said “Fireworks!” right away, and then struggled to come up with anything else.
And while I’m very patriotic, I’d be lying if I said I also wasn’t excited for some BBQ and a good firework show!
They just banned fireworks in our city (and most of the surrounding ones too) because of drought conditions. Now they are trying to “ban” the use of grills. Not sure how that’s going to work!
Happy fourth!
I’m tempted to make my family crawl through our muddy backyard under razor wire while I shout “this is why we support our troops! So that YOU don’t have to be the ones crawling in the mud while the Commies lob grenades at you!” I’ll pelt them with overripe fruit and scream “grenades! molotov cocktails! Atom bombs! This sh*t is getting real, now, isn’t it mother f******!” See, at this point I’ve lost sight of my original purpose of celebrating freedom, and I’m mostly just initiating my family about the horrors of war. There will probably be tears. And I’ll have to shell out for therapy down the road. But nobody’s going to forget OUR 4th of july celebrations this year.
That’s the best idea ever! What’s a great party without tears and blood?
boring. Tears and blood are what made this country great.
I’m a little scared to hear what Neal does for Easter.
Easter bunnies along the lines of Monty Python’s killer bunnies. Lots of fake blood.
Also, here’s this:
http://raisedbymydaughter.blogspot.com/2012/07/4th-of-july-celebrating-it-right.html
Found out yesterday that we are going to my little brother’s new house for the celebration. Not sure what that entails yet. Then on July 5th we head to Long Island to visit my husband’s parents and go to my nephews’ birthday party. Home again on July 9th.
I actually did sew matching outfits for my kids and their cousins.
But did you enter a hot dog eating contest? 😉
We’re actually making red & blue (on white) tie dyes tonight. Crappy Boy’s idea!
Nothing! (because we are usually in Canada for Canada Day and stay until after the 4th) This time we’re in the U.S. Not sure what to make of that yet…
We usually head to my in-laws’ and take the boat out and watch fireworks from the water. And then the next night, head to the nearest city to watch their fireworks (they do them for three nights). This year, with two people recovering from tonsillectomies, we’re sticking closer to home. Neighborhood party in the morning, uncle’s for an afternoon cook-out, and then local fireworks.
Celebrating my daughters 5th birthday! Fireworks every year on her bday! 🙂
During the day, we eat too many hot dogs. By night, my husband and I sit inside and pray the fireworks don’t wake up the kids.
We’re probably going to finagle a last minute BBQ and see if the husband will buy fireworks last minute also for the boy, but maybe not if I’m in the hopsickle having No 2. (Due July 10th, Whee!)
Today and tomorrow making 4th of July projects and a lemon cake decorated to look like a flag.
Wed: Main & PCH – Huntington Beach to see the parade about 9 am, back home for naps while I make as many food items into star shapes then everyone over to our house for festivities and walk back down 2 miles to the beach to see the firework show about 9 pm and and the kiddos fall asleep on the way back.
That is what we did last year! Except more north – we were in Redondo for the fireworks.
My dad’s birthday happens to be the 4th and I can honestly tell you that I was about 8 when I figured out that the decorations and fireworks *weren’t* for him.
That is so cute! And it reminded me that when I was a little girl I had an uncle named Sam. I thought those Uncle Sam posters (patriotic dude with the flag top hat) were actually him.
Our baby is 6.5 mos old. We’re new parents so we’ll probably spend our needed day off relaxing as much as we can with an infant.
We are going to decorate bikes for the parade in the local park.
No parades?
well …tomorrow is my birthday: the 4 july
I always feel so bad for the sad Crappy Boy & Crappy Baby, but then I get so happy when they cheer up. It’s such an emotional rollercoaster. 🙂
Parade, cookout, homemade ice cream and corn hole tournament (the uncles have aged, so no more family softball games–and who in the world thought of the name “corn hole”? It must have been a Midwesterner with no sense of commercial appeal). No fireworks, though. Even if they weren’t banned due to dry weather, my kids can’t stay up late enough for it to get dark.
One day I’ll blog about the family softball game. Once I manage to gain some perspective. 🙂
Here’s my recent post. It has (poorly shot) pictures!
http://www.momintwocultures.com/2012/07/pink-p-learns-to-skate.html
We play corn hole games when we go to Wisconsin every summer! Bags of corn in a hole. Corn Hole!
We are a military family and next year on 4 July, my husband is scheduled to be in Afghanistan. So I am sure we WILL be doing everything on the list! There will be a BBQ and lots of beer and wine and I will try to educate the kids on the history behind it (since I did major in history in college)!!!
I love this…I was reading all your plans for the next three days and thinking I was the worst mom in the world…and then I got to the end. AMEN! I love your blog and can’t WAIT for your book!!!
love love love fireworks – but my oldest dog is TERRIFIED of them… so I’ll probably climb into bed and let her cower against me. All 70lbs of her….
Our town has a kids parade. The deal is, bring some non-motorized wheeled item (ie: bike, scooter, wagon, etc.) and the kid(s). Decorate non-motorized wheeled item and kid(s) in red, white, and blue and show up before 10a. The parade is about a block and a half long. Kid(s) get to walk/ride in the parade and afterwards gets a snack.
We tried to do it last year, but our Little Man was still taking morning naps at that time and slept through the whole thing! This year, we are ready. His trike is decorated and we have been talking it up for about a week now. Little Man is ready! Now comes the hardest part: waiting until 10a.
I’ll be spending the day house/dog sitting for my sister and brother-in-law while i anxiously await the birth of my niece 🙂
Fireworks are awesome but the kids must have to stay up super late? At least for Bonfire Night in the UK it’s November so the sun sets wayyyyyy earlier… We always buy extra and put on another show at Christmas, when it’s pitch black by 4pm 🙂
Too funny! We live in Hilo Hawaii where it rains most of the time plus our mixed-culture people just don’t get very excited about 4th of July. We get more fireworks here on Chinese New year! So, we are just hanging out as usual today, reading your blog. 🙂
I dressed one of my twins in a “4th of July” outfit, because I only had one holiday outfit. And we ate watermelon. 🙂
Eastport, ME has the most amazing festival, but we got fogged out last night. No fireworks. As long as the weather holds today, we will get them.
And since we are a port city, the USS Jacinto docked with us for the week. they leave tomorrow. Sailors are fun toys. 🙂
I live in the Midwest. There’s a severe drought here so all fireworks were banned, including city displays 🙁
The city I work for is rescheduling for the 14th, but we STILL haven’t had rain, so that’s not looking good. The city I live in “hasn’t decided” if they’ll reschedule or not. Ugh.
My 5-year-old and I baked cookies, made red,white and blue floral arrangements, dyed daisys, splashed around in a baby pool and enjoyed a day with NOTHING planned!