Independence Day in Texas

I think I offended many of my Minnesota peeps when I called Minnesota lame in a Facebook post, and it was just a poorly-worded post that I uploaded from my mobile phone riding as a passenger in the car on the way home from our firework festivities.  Coming from a state where the large firework cakes are illegal (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cake_(firework), it was very different to be in a state where they were being lit everywhere from people's back yards.  In Minnesota, you usually have to go across the border to Wisconsin or one of the Dakotas to purchase these expensive cakes (usually around $100 a piece; sometimes you can get a two for one deal) - and you have to light them off where you won't get caught by the police, so they are very popular at people's cabins/lakes in Minnesota.  One of the best memories at my mom and stepdad's cabin was the year we lit off a dozen or so cakes.  The kids loved it.  They were worth the oohs and aaahs.

Since it was our first Fourth in Texas, Corbin's therapist actually recommended a spot called Towne Lake to see the fireworks.  We made our way to a strip mall and got our chairs out and waited for the show to start.  It was storming in the distance, but close enough to make you feel uncomfortable.  I actually think they started the fireworks a little earlier than planned.  The timing was perfect - as soon as the show was over, it started raining.  Good job, Towne Lake, for making the executive decision to light them a little early. 

 

Texas sure likes its fireworks.  We just couldn't believe all that was going on around us when we got home.  I might as well have stayed home in my back yard!  It was unbelievable.

So sorry, Minnesota, I wasn't calling the State of Minnesota lame - I was just calling the fireworks laws lame.  For pete's sake, one year the boys across the street were lighting off small bottle rockets, and another neighbor came storming out and yelled at the boys to stop because "they could land on someone's roof and cause a fire"! 

I also have to say that with my panic disorder, I have avoided crowded locations and our kids have been disappointed that we haven't gone to see a true fireworks display in quite a few years.  Corbin was the only one home this year, and he really, really enjoyed the show.  He talked the whole time (past of it was his autism and ADD coming out) but we didn't mind because we knew how excited he was.  Carly elected to stay with her friends in the subdivision, and I am sure she got just as great of show if not better than we did at the professionally-lit fireworks.  She did get a case of poison ivy on her feet though running around with her flip flops on.  Not such a fun souvenir from the 4th!