My neighborhood’s something shines on the 4th of July.

There is a small park near my house that could easily be overlooked by the passerby if they weren’t paying attention. It’s big enough for Little League but small enough that the only parking is on the streets in the neighborhood. And every year on the 4th of July some of the neighbors get together and shoot of fireworks in that little park.

Not just bottle rockets and roman candles either.

We are talking SERIOUS fireworks.

Fireworks that draw people and their lawn chairs from all over the neighborhood. They show up well before dark because they know how AWESOME the fireworks are going to be.

All those little white boxes have people in them.
The red one has the single cop car that hung out all night.

We prefer to just pull our patio furniture onto the lawn for the festivities.

This is not anything new in my neighborhood. It has been happening for over 20 years. This year was the 5th consecutive year we have enjoyed the show. From what I have been told it started out with a couple of key families contributing to the pile of fireworks back when permits didn’t matter and the police didn’t harass you for shooting Screaming Banshees off in the park with a blowtorch in one hand and an open can of Old Milwaukee in the other. Families moved in and out of the neighborhood but one of those primary families never moved. Year after year they shot off fireworks from the basketball court and baseball diamonds in that small park. When the father passed away he left a trust fund for his children to carry on the tradition for their mother each fourth of July. This year was no exception.

And although that particular family didn’t contribute as much as they had in the past the other neighbors did.

For almost 2 straight hours.

*Right here is where the 82 seconds of explosive video I shot with JQ’s phone would go if the file size had not been TOO BIG to send. Stupid file size limitation.*

This year marked G-tot’s first experience with fireworks and they did not disappoint. I personally think it was the best fireworks display since we moved here. I hope someday he looks back and remembers that something special about our neighborhood.

G-tot loved doing the “sparklies”.

So did I.

Even if it is the end of November and everyone is looking ahead to the winter holidays. Nobody is thinking about Halloween anymore but that doesn’t really matter because… Um…

Well just look.

See that little kid in the lion suit? This lion suit? That’s me. And finding this makes me so excited I could pee a little. You see, my mom made that lion suit for me when I was a little kid. It has been worn by a BUNCH of people—me, the neighborhood kids, my brother a decade and a half later. My mom made the mane out of an old coat and it fit all sizes but she also made a separate suit for adults so my dad had also worn it at one point. I wore the costume again as a teen and JQ wore it several years ago. And then this year my son wore it.

How awesome is that?

Also, how awesome is that plastic rabbit costume my friend on the right is wearing? Wicked cool.

This morning we went apple picking at MacQueen’s Orchard in Holland, Ohio with JQ’s family. Apple picking has become somewhat of an annual tradition spear-headed by my mother-in-law and it is always a fun time for everyone. G-tot is finally at an age where he could really understand what we were doing and he loved it! When you pick your own you have the option of getting a half bushel or a full bushel. They are $14 and $28 respectively. In the past we would get a bushel and split it between the family. This year JQ and I got a 1/2 bushel of our own. That’s about 4 times what we would get in the past. I want to try making applesauce and maybe a pie or two so we went big this time.

You should see my kitchen table. It is full of apples.

The table is also littered with apple fritters, donuts, and apple butter because you cannot skip going into the store at MacQueen’s to grab some locally made apple butter, watch cider being made—and sample it, get a cone of popcorn, or hit the bakery for sweets that you can smell from outside. We indulged in all of those things today.

Toledo weather was cool this morning and sky was overcast and gray. The threat of rain did a great job of keeping the crowd to a minimum. We were practically alone in the orchard. As soon as we got out of the car G-tot exclaimed, “Look as those funny trees!” I can’t say I blame him. As you walk through the orchard you find tree after tree of different varieties of apples to choose from. McIntosh, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, etc. Personally, I’m a fan of the Jonathon. Just the right size and just the right tartness for my taste. Yum!

During the Fall, MacQueen’s also has a pony ride on the weekends. The ponies weren’t there when we first arrived which bummed me out and we almost left without seeing them. I just happened to catch a glimpse of them over the hill as we were saying our goodbyes. I was super excited to have G-tot ride one. So were both JQ and G-tot.

He rode Bam-Bam. It was that or the horse that kept showing major wood. Which, ewww. Not a pretty sight. I managed to steer G-tot clear of that guy. No need to have photographic evidence of that as a memory of the day.

I like the other memories we created.