Fifth of July Heroics

This year's Fourth of July was so much fun because Audrey is now old enough to really appreciate sparklers and firework fountains. We started our evening with some great homemade burgers - the works: juicy hamburgers, cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and Adam's delicious sauteed mushrooms - YUM! I made potato salad, and we had cantaloupe and had some limeade to top off the meal - which we ate in the shade of our huge wisteria tree. It was a really nice meal for our family, made that much nicer by having my parents here visiting, and Adam's mom and brother also stopped by to join in the festivities.

After dinner we lit some sparklers and a few small firework fountains - all of which Audrey loved.



She laughed and applauded and said "ooooohhhhh" a lot. It definitely didn't hurt that she could share her excitement and enthusiasm with her Grandmas...






and one of her Grandpas...



and of course, Adam makes everything fun for Audrey.



But the real excitement of the night didn't start until after the Fourth of July became the fifth of July. I woke up at 4am to Audrey just starting to cry - an occurrence which has thankfully become pretty rare since adjusting to her new bed. I slowly sat up on the side of the bed and my eye was caught by a strange glowing outside one of our bedroom windows. I stood and parted the curtains to see what the glowing was and discovered that the garbage can of one of our neighbors was on fire! I wasn't sure I could trust my sleepy eyes - I blinked a few times and looked all around to make sure it was what it looked like and then woke Adam. He instantly called 911 and reported the situation. I got Audrey and we all watched out the window as the fire spread from one garbage can to the other two cans next to it. Two big fire trucks showed up just as the siding on the carport shed began to warp and buckle from the heat of the approaching fire. We anxiously watched as the firemen extinguished the fire. We were so relieved that the destruction was confined to their trash cans and what looks to be very minimal damage to the siding on their shed. And this was thanks to Audrey - I would not have discovered the fire had she not woken me when she did. The timing couldn't have been tighter! She's our little hero today!