Hooray for the Red White and Blue! And Fireworks, too!

Summertime!  And the living is....the same as every damn day.  But anyway, we've got the Fourth of July to liven things up, and the holiday falling in the middle of the week did nothing to damper local spirits.  Our city still allows the "safe and sane" fireworks, so of course...

SOME PEOPLE... I WON'T SAY WHO...insisted we purchase the big ones:

Ahh, what's more patriotic than a 100 year old doll kicking it with the flag, while the cat sneaks in:

I'll tell you what is...ME ACTUALLY COOKING!  Yes, I threw off the microwave shackles, tied on the apron and headed outdoors to BBQ some hot dogs and sausages.  True, I was scared, as there were things like fire, and smoke and bees and such in the air...but I sucked it up:

 I also bought a mini watermelon and when I sliced into it, was freaked out to see no black seeds:

 Of course, since I fired up the BBQ, I figured why waste all that heat and smoke and ash and stuff?  TIME FOR SMORES!!! (with patriotic marshmallow shapes, of course!)

 The end result...pretty tasty, but very messy.  This Virgo does not appreciate such foods:

Then we headed to the beach, the only one that allows fireworks on it.   SOME PEOPLE, I WON'T SAY WHO, were a little anxious to light up the sky:

Once our awesome "wind protection" pit was dug, I took the annual photo of the firepower.  SOMEONE, I WON'T SAY WHO...thought they would gross me out with a "foot in photo" bomb:

My friend's favorite firework to burn - need I explain why?

Here's a little one I found that turned out to be pretty cool - once lit, it sparked from the top, then finished off with fireworks coming from the spout.  Not bad for a $1.99:

Time to relax while awaiting the sun's exit from the sky...check out DP and the phone DP uses....how narcissistic can you be!

Time for some rounds of the classic game PassWord - this game set is from the 60's (it was my grandmother's) and is based off the popular TV show of that time - Unfortunately, this set did not come with an "Allen Ludden".

 Well, here it is barely dark and DP was all "give me the matches, give me the damn matches!!"

So I thought I'd distract everyone by taking some photos as the sun went down.  This one of my friend is the best of the bunch.  Tragically, as I backed up to take this photo, my dignity was killed as I fell backwards over a rock and fell, camera and all, into the sand. My "friends" almost died laughing.  All night.  WHATEVER!!

My other "friend" did well with this pose as well.  

 ME?  Oh no, I posed and ended up looking like a guy peeing in the ocean!  Not the photographers fault mind you - MINE.  RETAKE needed! So here, instead, is a photo of the sunset with a sailboat under it:

FINALLY - the sun set and the matches were out - This first firework is my favorite to light up, as it has bees on it and anything that causes bees harm is ok by me:

 Nice effects by the camera, despite the traumatic sand landing it had earlier:

This here is a Roman Candle - I get these instead of those new piss-ant sparklers they sell nowadays.  The ones we had as kids were better and lasted longer, too.  Look as Miss BravePants here:

 Ahh...a final image of the beach...commonly known as "The War Zone" on the Fourth of July: