Another 4th of July has come and gone....

When I was a little boy growing up in San Jose...the area was much like Sacramento is today....some houses and lots of farms. Some of my fondest memories were of helping my Dad sell fireworks in the VFW booth and my old Man would always buy a big box of fireworks and we would all go to my Uncles farm to light them off. All the cousins would line up their fireworks and I would always look around to see if I had the biggest box....most times I did :-)

So when fireworks were banned from Santa Clara County....the fireworks booths went the way of the farm fields....now just business parks and overpriced homes dot the landscape. It was depressing to say the least.....

So when we moved to Sacramento, I was excited at the prospect of buying fireworks once again and sharing my experiences with my kids much as my Dad did with me. Now that I'm older, I've gone full circle...I've worked in my kids fireworks booth and I still find myself staring at the brochure wondering which box I should buy.

Our dear friends, the Kitazumi's, were able to join us this year from the Bay Area and they were excited to partake in the fun! Brad went and purchased the same box as I did at $55 less than I paid?! What's up with that?!?! I told Marissa, their daughter, to go light some sparklers....she said, "what's a sparkler?".......oh, poor child...you know not what you miss.......

So another 4th of July has come and gone....it was full of fun....food....family and tons and tons of fireworks. Everytime the 4th comes along....I think of my old man and his buddies working the booth and I still find myself looking around to see if I have the biggest box......

Fireworks by the lake....

Jason and Marissa

Lighting snakes....

Cousin Andy prepping the fuses

WOW!