Hard looking back, but grateful, none the less

The Fourth of July is a holiday that The Big Guy Lowe loves to celebrate!

Not only do we get to celebrate the wonderful freedoms that are ours and the lives of those that have bought our freedoms, we also get to explode things.  Well, The Big Guy Lowe gets to explode things.

We hadn't been expecting to celebrate this year as we are usually in Canada for our HB family reunion.  We were pretty excited when we realized that the reunion was scheduled the week after the Fourth.  Originally we had planned on having a somewhat small potluck BBQ with our neighbors and some family members.  The day of the event, we found out that more neighbors had found out about our celebrations and understood them to be a block-party.  YIKES!!  All of a sudden we were concerned about the amount of food we had and everything else.  Our neighbors Sue and Kathy were great at helping with last minute preparations for our much bigger event!

The BBQ actually turned out pretty well.  There was plenty of food as many delicious dishes were brought.  As evening approached everyone began bringing out their fireworks.  It was crazy to see the amount of fireworks that were brought over to our street.

 

This unfortunately though, is where things started getting out of control.  In the past, there has been basically two families that have shot off the fireworks.  Our neighbors on the corner and us.  This year though there were so many families that wanted to shoot their fireworks off and there was no order to it all.  There was one time that I looked over to The Big Guy Lowe and he mouthed the words "too many people" to me.  I nodded in agreement.  In fact, I had the impression that I needed to stop things and try and get some order/control over the situation.  I didn't listen to that impression though.  I was afraid of being "the annoying neighbor" that's a control freak.  I've learned the lesson in the past though that I would rather be the person that was disliked for doing what was right than the person that was liked because they went along with something that wasn't okay...why did I hesitate?  I won't next time.

 Fireworks were going off on from the streets behind us and the streets in front of us.

Our neighbors were tucked into their comfy chairs ready for the show to begin. 

Everything seemed like it would be fine as usual. 

Until there were at least four different areas of fireworks being set off at the same time and from too close of an area. 

I took this picture just minutes before all hell broke loose, and I don't say that lightly.  It scares me to think how close to the firework cache we had allowed our children to sit. 

There are no more pictures.

Literally minutes after this last photo was taken a stray spark caught about $800.00 worth of fireworks on fire and they were exploding out of control.  I remember as things began to explode and the danger of the situation hit me realizing that these three little boys were sitting withing 10 feet of the exploding firework cache.  They didn't know what to do.  I was standing behind them and grabbed them all from behind and pulled them into our neighbors back yard behind their fence.  Fireworks were exploding everywhere.  All I could see was smoke and fireworks.  All I could hear was explosion after explosion, people yelling, and the three boys I was huddling with behind the fence sobbing in terror.  I knew that our youngest son was inside the house with our youngest neice, but other than that I didn't know what was happening.  I was terrified for The Big Guy Lowe who had been right in the middle of the exploding fireworks.  I desperately wanted to go and see where He was, but when I tried to leave the boys they looked at me such terror that I knew I couldn't leave them. I just prayed and prayed.

Such terror possessed me that night.  When we finally realized that the explosions had stopped for good, (there had been a brief lull earlier until more fireworks began exploding again) I took the three boys and quickly guided them into our home through our back yard.  When we got inside I found all our kids and cousins.  Jaymee was there and so was Grammy and a few other people.  We immediately saw that we needed to calm the kids down.  We decided to sing "I Am a Child of God" and then we said a prayer.  Everyone was okay for the most part, even though there were a few superficial burns and hair that had been singed.  I put a fun show on tv and went to find my husband.

Gratefully, for as bad as the night had been there were no serious injuries.  Other than a few singed marks on our door, some melted blankets, a bush that burned in Sue and Gary's yard and some smoldering bark dust in our yard (!) everyone was okay.  When The Big Guy Lowe and I found each other, we just held onto one another.  I was so grateful and relieved that he was okay.  He had a burn on his leg, but other than that he was okay.  All I wanted was for the evening to be over and everyone to go home.

Unbelieveably, our neighbors just moved the rest of the fireworks down the street and continued lighting them off and my brother continued lighting off fireworks that one of their friends had just bought minutes before the explosions began.

Clean up took place.  Garbage was collected. The Big Guy Lowe and I have determined that we will never let another situation like that happen again.  Shakily we went to bed that night, grateful for the blessing of safety that had been ours that day...when so much could have been worse.

The next morning I was still feeling very unsettled.  I knew I needed to somehow let our neighbors know of our feelings and the responsibility that needed to be each of ours.  The following is the note that I printed out and taped on each door of those that had been present the night before:

Neighbors, Friends and Family,                                         July 5, 2011
We wanted to send out a special thank you to all those that helped with our neighborhood 4th of July celebration yesterday. We enjoyed the yummy food at the pot-luck BBQ and especially took pleasure in strengthening our neighborhood associations. With that said, we also feel an apology needs to be made for the fireworks “mishap” that took place. In years past we have always enjoyed a strong degree of safety and order. That has been the solid base that has provided for great celebrations. Last night, in our neighborhood excitement, multiple fireworks both large and small were being set off simultaneously and in close proximity to one another. On-lookers—especially children were extremely close to that area. During this exciting but confusing time, a stray spark ignited a portion of the firework cache. While no one person is responsible for the accident, there is an opportunity to share a neighborhood apology. No one should ever be put in that dangerous and confusing situation. While fireworks have a degree of associated risk, we can do our part to keep that risk to a minimum. As for our family, we will be making changes in the up-coming years to ensure safety for our family and those around us. We look forward to keeping our future 4th of July celebrations focused on strengthening our neighborhood associations while commemorating the blessings of living in this great country. We love this neighborhood and all of you that make it so great. Have a wonderful and safe summer…now that it looks like it has finally come!

Sincerely,

Both The Big Guy Lowe and I feel like this was the end of our enticement with explosions.  It's well over a month after this event took place, but I have only now been able to write about it.  I have much to be grateful for and will make sure I act on those impressions I recieve in the future.

Happy Birthday to the United States of America!!

This year the 4th of July fell on a Sunday.  How exciting!  We were able to go to church and recognize the blessings of living in a free country with freedom of religion.  We were also able to acknowledge the Lord's hand in growing this beloved country of ours.  We have much to be grateful for.

To carry on the feelings of gratitude we had, we were able to invite many of our neighbors over for a BBQ.  It was so nice having time to get to know eachother more.  Again, we have been blessed to live not only in a free contry, but also blessed to live in a wonderful neighborhood with exceptional neighbors that we consider friends.  Gary and Sue, Dave and Kathy, John and Nancy and their two kids, Grammie and Grandpa HB, Grammie Lowe and her friends the Woods, and our family all enjoyed a fun pot-luck style meal with Hamburgers and Hotdogs.  I guess I was too busy with food and friends to get pictures!  Must have been fun!

Our neighborhood firework show was scheduled to begin later in the evening--closer to dusk.  In preparation, all the fireworks were unwrapped and set out.  Not a bad stash!

(Just note how everyone is dressed.  It wasn't a warm day at all--and that carried on into the night!!)

Our neighbor, John, brought down his stash too!

Even though it wasn't dark yet, the "popits" and sparklers were brought out for the kids!

Grandpa HB began with the popits--little packets of explosives that POP when they hit the ground.

Then the sparklers!

We had more of our good friends and neighbors come over for fireworks.  The Simpers and the Campos' were a great addition to the fun!

By the time we were finished with sparklers, it was dark enough to begin with the big stuff! 

But wait!

You are wondering if our youngest overcame the fear of fireworks he loudly displayed last night.  The answer to that is...Nope!  So instead of me staying the whole evening inside, we put him to bed early enough that he was deep asleep by the time the loud booms came.  Ahhhh, the blessings of sleep!

Okay, on to the big stuff!

The Big Guy Lowe was our personal master of ceremonies.

We were all sitting watching the display at our house...

and across the street on the flat driveway!

It was a great display that went on from about 9:30PM to after midnight!  While we thoroughly enjoyed our fireworks, it was so fun to see the different firework displays that were going on throughout our neighborhood.  There really wasn't a quiet moment from when we started to when we were finished!

A special time for our family was when The Big Guy Lowe let G help with some of the fireworks!

After the fireworks were finished for the evening, we were joined by MANY neighbors and we had our street cleaned up in no time!  Again, what a wonderful neighborhood we are blessed to be a part of...

and what a truly wonderful country we are blessed to live and be citizens of.

A few snowflakes in the forcast...

We had planned on taking the outside lights down, but seeing a snow flurry or two encouraged The Big Guy Lowe and I to head out and start.  Snow doesn't come just any day in the pacific northwest, you know!

Our oldest son was pretty excited to use his new scooter in the softly falling snow flakes!

We finished getting the lights down, but that didn't stop the snow...

so we woke the other boys up from their naps, got everyone bundled up and headed out to play!  Grammy stopped by and played with us for a while!  She taught our boys the importance of catching snowflakes in their mouths!

Our littlest wasn't sure what was going on at first, but soon started to have fun!

Earlier in the year, we picked up some skis for our boys--what better time to try them out?  Aren't all children's skis basically rock skis anyway? :)

It didn't take our oldest much time at all to gain his balance--on our driveway!

Our middle son wasn't about to be left in his powder though--he wanted to try too!

Both boys did a great job!  Maybe we will take that family vacation to Bend, OR this winter after all!

Snow is so much fun--especially if you don't have to go anywhere!

That snowman is the size of our youngest little guy!

Catching snowflakes in their mouths--all by themselves!  Fast learners!!  :)

As the light started fading, and the snow kept falling, we decided to take a walk through our neighborhood.

Beautiful.

We had been outside for quite a while enjoying all of the snow when we started seeing signs that it was time to head home...

But we couldn't take a walk outside without stopping by Sue and Gary's house.  Our youngest insisted and headed over there even though he had been dropping in the snow just minutes before!  We are so grateful for our wonderful neighbors!

A quick look at our home covered in snow...

Now down the street each way...

What a wonderful day!

Halloween Fun--Part 4 The Neighborhood Halloween Party!

This has been a year of many firsts for me, and helping plan our neighborhood party was just another part of my learning experiences!  It was great getting to know a few more of my neighbors--Jen and Dawn are both great ladies, with enough fun sass to share!!

This halloween party was going to have alot going on; a cake walk, more games, a bounce house with a slide, a haunted house, a pot luck dinner, costume contest--lots of fun!  The part I was most excited about was the cake walk.  I decided I was going to have a lot of fun getting ready for that event and my kids supported me in that decision!

I baked for a few weeks prior to the party, wrapping then freezing the goodies.  The plan was to take them out the day before and have a mammoth day of decorating.  Crazy you say, maybe, but I called in reinforcements and my mom came over to help!  Have I mentioned how much I love my mom?  She is not only talented in many areas, but she's fun to be with too.  I know I don't have any daughters, but I hope my boys might feel something of that for me someday...probably not though--they're boys!! :)

Just a few examples of what we turned out that day...

I also made my favorite carmel pretzel logs--truly, they are the best I have ever tasted because the carmel recipe is so good.  If you are interested let me know and I will get the recipe to you!!  SO GOOD!!!

The day of the party we were concerned about the weather.  Our bounce house wouldn't be able to be used if it was raining, and the company we were renting from called that morning to give us the chance to cancel due to rain.  We held off and were rewarded!  As someone said, "It's a halloween miracle!"--we were extremely grateful!

Setting up for food with Sue and Shaggy.  You can't go wrong when Scooby doo is around!

Bounce house fun--a real kid-pleaser!  Check out All Pro Inflatables as they were great to rent from!

Adults and kids came in costume!

We had many winners in the costume contest.

Overall the party was a success!  The weather ended up being mild and dry making it perfect for an outdoor party.  Even the clean up was relatively painless as many people stayed to help.  The best part was the kids having fun.  Our oldest thought it was great that he could run around with his friends and not always have a parent right with him--growing up a bit, I think.  We'll see what happens next year!