Fourth of July on the Third of July

Manchester's fireworks happened on Saturday night, and we thought we might have a good view of them from our front porch. It turned out to be only the top half of a good view (the half above the tree line) but we still had a lot of fun with the family and friends who showed up for a cookout and a show.

Matt's mom brought a bag full of fireworks and sparklers, and Matt and I had bought some as well. Connie is so good at finding bargains, and she found out that one of the fireworks stores in Derry was having a buy one, get one free sale. Which means that we basically got twice as much stuff as we'd planned on getting. When I was a kid, I can remember playing with sparklers and snappers (those little twists of paper which pop when you throw them on the floor), but it was always just a few sparklers and snappers. What made me really happy on Saturday was the abundance we had to offer the kids. There were over 200 sparklers, and about 20 boxes of snappers, bags of party poppers and firecrackers, as well as a few more impressive, larger fireworks which shot balls of colored fire or streams of sparkles up in the air. The kids were so into the things that we had that they actually were more interested in them than the big show when it finally started.

There was a ton of food. We'd told people to bring something to share and boy did they ever! Hotdogs, ribs, steak tips, chicken, salads, chips, brownies and ice cream.

We also used the firepit and had s'mores. Matt and I found GIGANTIC marshmallows at Market basket that morning. There was burned marshmallows all over the driveway and yard the next morning! But a freshly burned marshmallow (cause, let's face it, they all get burned) is absolutely delicious.