Uncle Kev

On July 3rd, we had "the kids" come over to spend the night.  

We began the evening with a nice, calm, uneventful dinner...

The Subway sandwich of choice: Ham + Cheese + Mayo + Bread.  ( Boring!)

I spent the next 15 minutes giving them the food speech about how there are so many amazing foods out there and that they don't know if they don't like them until they have tried them.... blah blah blah.

It never works, though.

Little did they know that Uncle Kev ( aka 4th of July Santa) had acquired a RIDICULOUS amount of fireworks for their evening surprise.

And then this happened:

And the crowds went WILD.

I have never seen two boys change in to their swimsuits so fast and jump in the pool.  Uncle Kev was in rare form and ready to play.

And then the teenagers got involved.

They played in the pool for hours!  And only came inside when they were in need of a towel or a timeout to recuperate.

I love that I can see in to the back yard from my kitchen... it was almost like I was actually outside except I didn't have to be a part of the shenanigans.

The fireworks started at 10:30pm.  Kev even set up a special viewing area for me.  But even though I was a decent distance away, I still had my hands over my face and watched through my fingers in fear that debris would fall in to my eyes.

Dramatic much?

The show was spectacular!  Especially when some neighbors came out and joined in on the fun!  No one wants to be out done in Gaston when it comes to fireworks.  No one.

The evening ended perfectly.  I was able to get the majority of my party food prepped and the kids were entertained  until they were so exhausted that they went to sleep.

Unfortunately, the next morning we woke up to a mess.

It seems the wind blew all of the fireworks debris in to the pool and on the pool deck.

Not to mention the pool party aftermath...

But it was nothing that Kev couldn't quickly fix.

It was totally worth it to him.  In fact, I'm not exactly sure who had more fun - him or the kids.

Up next:  The Food for the Fourth... and my kitchen helper....