Fireworks!

Growing up in California meant that I never really experienced fireworks first-hand. We went to a few fireworks shows, and we could always see a couple shows at once when we stood at the top of the nearby hill, but we never set any off ourselves (you can't buy any decent fireworks in the state, and it's dangerous to set them off lest you start a fire and burn down several million-dollar homes). My first experience with the joy of fireworks was when I was 18 and staying in Alabama after my brother's wedding. My dad and a good family friend went to a nearby store and bought a ton of fireworks, and we set them all off on a Sunday night (July 2nd technically...we were celebrating my sister's birthday and the 4th of July :) ). It was a lot of fun, except for that one part when my sister and I were nearly shot by a Roman candle (note to fireworks enthusiasts: if you're going to bungee 5 Roman candles to the top of a mailbox, make sure they're secure, lest one fall down and continue to shoot off explosives at peoples' legs). Of course, all this fun with fireworks meant that our bags got heavily searched at the airport thanks to all the explosives residue on our clothes. :)
Here's a few pictures from our fun (6 years ago...where did the time go?!)

Just a couple of CA girls and some fireworks. We're not excited or anything.

This was the first experiment with bungee cords and Roman candles. And yes, that pipe is lit.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July! :)