Let Freedom RING

I couldnt blog last night cause honestly, I was just so tired.

We had alot of fun. I have decided though that I want to do a fireworks stand next year. I live on the corner of a busy intersection, there isnt a stand for MILES around me and I want to have one. I fiqure if I can save a few grand before Christmas I can do it. Now I just have to find the money. LOL Its not expensive to get into. And you make a freakin killin. Heck, on my family alone I could make a fortune. I swear, these Byerly's are like a kid in a candy store at a fireworks stand!

Hmmm... wonder if I can get a small buisness loan to do it?? Anyone know? Can a married, white female get a SBL? with crappy credit? LOL

Lets see, yesterday they kids woke up and instead of Rayleys first words being "mom, is it cereal time yet? I'm hungry" they were "can we pop fireworks yet?"

I had spent 2 days cleaning up the yard, all week recleaning the house, got ALL the laundry done, the kitchen and livingroom were spotless when I went to bed Friday night and after the house was awake for an hour, I had about 3 hours worth of work to do.

I went out adn made sure the yard was still decent, BR was going to have to bushhog the little bit of grass before everyone got here, and before I could set up the tent thingy.

The kids and I moved all the patio furniture. we dont have a patio, but do have the furniture. LOL

We moved it over by the house, I made sure there was nothing hidden in the 2 foot tall weeds he was going to mow down and recleaned the house. I moved the trucks way off, Last time the grass was that tall and he bushhogged up there he found one of the kids metal toy trailers, I was sitting between my 2 trucks (his was not here-- thank God cause its shorter than both of mine) in a lawn chair and he hit that 6 inch long metal toy. It richoched off the old black truck, went about 6 inches over my head and hit my BRAND NEW WHITE doully. It didnt do much, just left some green paint on it. Maybe a little scratch, but my pregnant self like to have had a heartattack. I didnt want another repeat of that! LOL

When he woke up he went out and got started, his brother was going to cme and get the tractor to fix a hole in his driveway when he got done so we didnt have much time, which was fine, We had to get cooking.

I was standing out there by the glass topped patio table, its a real nice set, the chairs are sooo nice. well the table is kinda crappy, not real sturdy, but its not bad. I have always wanted a set, but we had to have one when we were living in the travel trailer. There wasnt room in there to turn around, so most days we would eat outside on the patio furniture. We even had a little gazebo thing that went over it with skeeter netting. That got killed during the huricanne that never was though. But we had wrapped the glass up and put it in the storage building before we left to evacuate.

Anyway, I was standing out there waiting on him to get the spot mowed that I was going to put up the tent thingy. On his first pass through a 8 inch peice of 4 x 4 got caught by the bushhog and came flying right at me. it missed me by inches and missed the table by less than that. it went directly under it, between the glass top and the middle braces, glanced off the porch and came to rest a foot from me.

I couldnt belive it. I was amazed. The chances of it not hitting me, the most accident prone person I know, or the table, were astronomical.

He got all that done and only tore up the peice of 4 X 4 that was hidden in the grass and a rope the boys had left outside. I reckon they were roping some peices of firewood at some point and left it out there. Oh well. Live and learn. He did manage to see one of their bows before he sent it into the land of plastic smitherine peices.

Once all that was done we came in and he started his apple pie and decided to use his dutch oven to make an apple dump cake. We also prepared the Pork Ribs and I got all the fixins together for Tuna Fish sandwiches.

Since noone ws going to show up till late in the afternoon we had some time. We ate and watched TV. And every 5 minutes had to tell Rayley the fireworks would be LATER. when it was dark. Then it dawned on her, she goes to bed before dark. This upset her to no end. I still make the kids go and lay down at 8:30. Mostly for my own sanity. they dont always go to sleep then, but at least they are not in here bouncing on me.

We told her that she would get to stay up late and see the fireworks. We promised.

He went out to get his fires started, and had to find his firering. He had let it get overgrown with weeds. Once he got those going we all just went outside to wait on everyone to get here. There wasnt anything else to do, and the kids being outside meant they were not INSIDE messing up the clean house.

All I had left was the tater salad, so I went ahead and peeled the taters, then brough them in to boil. The kids rode their bikes and played, and Bow sat in his excersaucer thing and just enjoyed life.

I had gotten the table moved back, unfurled the umbrella to dislodge any nasty insects that always seem to take up residece in thre and got the tent all set up, That was fun. Matt and Brett are not tall enough to lock the legs into place. And I have a bad spot on one of the edges, its twisted from a storm we had when we were using it for baseball one time. So you have to be careful. I just Thank God everytime I am able to use it again. I dont want to have to buy another one.

We were sitting outside, enjoying the sunshine and not sweating too much, when all of a sudden we started to hear thunder. and there was a dark black cloud over behind us. This had happened the last 3 days, and not a drop of rain had fallen here. the day before BR had called cause he was 9 miles down the road unloading a load and it was raining cats and dogs. He wanted me and Brett to go out and cover up some wood so he had it dry to cook with.

We had went out and faught the wind to get it covered and it never even tried to rain. But boy did the wind blow.

Anyway, we were sitting there, hoping it didnt come close to us tongiht when all of a sudden a gust of wind hit. BR was tending his pit and the fire he had going in the firering to cook with the dutch oven. so I told Matt to stand at a corner and hold it while I sent Brett to get some tent stakes we had. He came back and about that time the wind really started to gust, it like to took Matt AND the tent off with it. we all got up and decided to rotate the tent thing so that the bad place wasnt taking the brunt of the wind. Trying to explain to an 8 and a 9 year old that we were all going to pick up a leg and walk in a circle and move this end to that side was like tryin to convince a mule that a bit wont hurt them. It was only a 20% chance of rain, much less than yesterday, and so we just wanted to secure it for the wind gusts we would get while the cloud was around us.

About the time we all got a corner and were walking, another gust came up. Since BR and I were standing with our backs to the wind and holding on the tent didnt go anywhere, but it sure wanted to. And it picked up the umbrella that was in the table and pulled it out of the cirle. Breaking the glass top as it went. The umbrella hit RIGHT between 2 windows, there is about a 10 inch wall between 2 windows and that is where it hit. God was watching out for us.

Now that table has been through countless storms. More than you can imagine. I have been sitting here and seen that umbrella picked up and carried off and had to run outside and chase it plumb into the horse pasture. And catching a 6 foot tall umbrella that is flippin end over end seemingly chasing the horses (or at least in their minds it was) is not fun or easy.

I dont know WHY, on this particular day, at this time it had to break my table. but it shattered it into a thousand peices.

We got the tent turned, and were going to stake it down, but it started to let loose a little rain. The kids started going into hysterics. They just knew that with Rain there would be no food (there might not be if it puts out the fire in the pit and the fire ring), no fireworks (well, I aint gona sit in the pourin rain to watch them...) and their lives would be ruined. I hollered at Brett to get Bow and go inside, and BR and I got the top off the frame. The wind could catch it and send it flying and we would be screwed, since the wind was blowing everything INTO the house.


BR and I got the top off,and covered up all the chairs that I had spent the last hour making the kids go find with it. I swear, I told them to go and get all the fold up chairs out of the storage building, they would come back iwth one chair. Not one each. both boys walking and the unlucky one totin a chair.

I knew I would need not only those that go with the patio furniture, but all the fold up chairs we had for everyone.

We didnt manage to get in before the rain hit. So we came in and changed shirts and watched some stuff we had on the DVR. There was no satilite.

It rained about 20 minutes and stopped. That was it, clear skys and lots of skeeters were all that was left. Luckily I have a skeeter killer thing. If you dont have a thermocell yet, I recommend one. These things are heaven sent. A gift from God.

We went back out and began to survey the damage. The fires seemed okay, he had lost 200 degree's in the pit, but he got it stoked back up pretty quickly, I was able to get the chairs uncovered and all but mine were dry, somehow mine got uncovered by the wind.

He hadnt put his cake out there yet he was still getting the coals made. Cause you have to hang it over a fire and put coals on top of it. (hence the 'oven' part of dutch oven.. otherwise it would be a stove)

The kids imediatly found the mud. And BR and I started surveying the glass. I think I said a thousand peices earlier. I was wrong. A million is more like it. It was a 6 foot long table at least . And was at least 3 feet wide. no sliver of glass was more than 1/2 the size of your pinkie nail.

He went and got the shovel and got about 8 shovelfuls up. and I was picking it up peice by peice. there were some slivers that would stick in your hands. and you didnt know they were there except you were bleeding. It only got in one of the chairs. But I never could get it out. and its all in the grass. I dont know how I am going to get it up. But I will have to. The kids play out there all the time. And the dogs, and ME. I am forever going barefoot. But even if you walk on it with shoes on you will track it into the house.

I guess I will have to vacuum it up. That should be cute, Vacumming the dirt.

BR's brother Luke and Amanda were the first to get here. Luke had been roading the tractor home and decided to stop off at thier moms and bushhog a pasture. BR had told him to just keep the tractor till he was through with it. He had no use for it for at least a week. But Luke had decided to bring it home. And since they only live about 6 miles away he just drove it over there. Well when the rain hit he was bushhogging and so he had to get clean dry clothes. He said that by the time he started he was so wet he just went on ahead and kept going. Since he was already wet.

My trucks were still down the lane, so they just parked around them. Once Suzie showed up and then BR's other brother Toby we were about to eat. And had a line of vehicles that was making it look like a Redneck convention. Nothin but Trucks. Luke actually drives a jeep, but his wife has a real vehicle and since he drove the tractor home she drove her truck. But we had 6 big old 4 wheel drive trucks that were lining my driveway. Not jacked up, KC lights on the roof and every metal peice a differnt color trucks, but all nice, newer Big OLD kick ass trucks. It looked pretty good. Well, aside from Suzies' Its a GMC. But at least its a 4X4.

ANyway. We sat around and visited for a while, BR finished up the ribs, boudan and the cake. I got the tater salad done (with some help, cause 1/2 way through it Bow decided he had to be held NOW.) and almost forgot about the beans. But once we got it all cooked and came in to eat it was getting close to dark. My inlaws showed up and we finished up supper.

We did have the shock of our lives when Bow was crawling around at one point. He went past Toby, the baby brother, and fell down. Toby picked him up. and held him. Luke got video. This is the same one who wont even hand me a diaper for fear that needing them are contagious. with the first 3 kids I have caught him at some point sitting and threw a kid into his lap. Just to screw with his head and take a picture. With this one he has gotten smarter and wont sit still if I am around. I swear I thought he was going to throw Brett back at me when I did it with him. And I promise it crossed his mind. He wasnt exactly comfertable looking, and threatened Bow with in an inch of his life if he puked, pooped, peed, or touched him.

After we were able to pick our jaws back up off the floor we all traipsed outside to get the show on the road. TOby and Luke were the official fire starters, and this time we all decided to sit at the edge of the tent thing, with them about 25 feet away, hopeing that no morter rounds went awry and ended up under our chairs again. This has happened a few times. It will wake you up. Thats for sure.

But we forgot to move the trucks back up to the house. My inlaws had parked down between the others out there, so we had another big ole 4 wheel drive out there. Luke and Toby were using the truck directly in front of mine as a table to set the stuff on, Toby's was across from mine and then there was a space with the tractor a little in front of Toby'. They were set up about 10 feet between the two trucks. The fireworks were beautiful. Better than I have ever seen. Cars that were passing by were honking and they were high enough that people could see them for quite a ways. Especially since we are on the highest hill in these parts.
The tent really came in handy too. You could hear the peices raining down on it. At first I wasnt sitting under it, till the first firework went off and I was watching it, and a peice came strait down and hit me in the eye. It was a pretty big peice, and smarted a little. So I schootched back.

Luke had bought the kids about 50 roman candles, so they were getting Amanda to light them and aiming at the trees. This time noone shot towards the 'fire starters' in years past at least one of the kids would turn at some point and point that way. I have always thought making them run for cover was just part of it. Since they have always managed to shoot a morter round under our chairs. Idiots.

This time they did have 2 that went haywire, but they managed to make it through the spot between Toby's truck and the tractor and into the pasture.

Bow really wasnt interested in the fireworks. He did like seeing the small ones the kids set off. Those little flamer ones. But before long he went to sleep. No amount of bangs, or pops, or bright lights could keep him awake. He never even jumped. And he hasnt been around them since New Years, when he was a little over a month old.

Once we did all the big fireworks, Luke and Rayley went to really doing the Roman Candles. She LOVES those things. And I swear, everytime the fifth ball would shoot out both of them would stand there and wait. It was like it suprised them each time that there was only 5 in them. Suzie brought out some kid fireworks, cars that are supposed to drive, a train, a penguin that shoots out flames. All kinds of crap. Since we are on a dirt patch the cars really didnt do much spinning and driving, but every once in a while one would get a purchase and take off. It would go towards a kid every time. I swear, more than one of us laughed till we almost pee'd our pants. And I really think that Luke had more fun with those than he did the adult fire works.

Once everyone left we just came in, the outside clean up could wait. I had a kitchen to pick up that looked like a tornado hit it. BR helped and it didnt take too long. But there were literly enough plates to fill up the dishwasher. I had to wash everything else by hand.

Oh and those watermelons we had. Just one of them 35 pound plus monsters filled up a VERY large roaster pan when I gutted it. No rine at all, just peices of watermelon.

About 5 minutes into the cleaning Brett showed up in the kitchen. He said he didnt feel well. So I went to hug him. I had just hugged 10 minutes before and nothing was wrong. But now he was burning up and he said he had a headache. I gave him some meds and told him to lay down.

BR went to check on them about 10 minutes later. both boys were in their own beds, and Rayley was in hers. This NEVEr happens. The boys sleep in her floor with her when they dont have to get up for school. But less than 15 minutes after we came in the house, all 3 kids were out like lights. Even Bow never woke up when I laid him down. and he NEVER sleeps through a position change. NEVER.

I had to go out to BR's truck when I was done with the kitchen. He had some super glue that I needed. I had backed mine up to the front bumper of his this morning, and for some reason the kids had parked their bikes between the two. I reckon cause there were 7 trucks parked everywhere and they fiqured anywhere else and they might get smashed. well I was holding on to my tailgate and briskly walking, trying to avoid their bikes in the moonlight. There is no light out there. and I hit that damn trailer hitch. Square on the knee. I went down like a ton of bricks. Then it stopped hurting. YOu know, when you hit something so hard it DOESNT hurt that you are going to be sore tomorrow! Sure enough, it wasnt very long and the feeling came back. I HATE drop hitches. HATE them. And I still had to walk all the way back to the house.

Off and on today BRett felt bad. His fever came back tonight in full force, I hope he doesnt get what ever it is he has, worse than Matt had it last week. for about 4 or 5 days he would get an awful headache and a fever and then after a nap and some meds he would feel better. I expect Rayley will have it next week, and then BR. maybe throw Bow in there somewhere, and by the begining of August I should be down with it.

Today we went out and cleaned up a little more. put up all the chairs and ate left overs. and watermelon. LOTS of watermelon! I called Luke and Amanda around 10 and asked them to come over and help us get rid of some of the left overs. Amanda asked me if I had seen my truck yet. I told her no. I hadnt, why? She said hers (after driving home last night) was COVERED in gun powder and peices of cardboard. When I went out and drove to the store today to get the paper I could see all the debris. There was VERY little white showing. I really should have washed it off. But since today was a 35% chance of rain, I could see the cloud, blacker than yesterdays, and letting God wash it was a much better idea than me getting out there and doing it. Plus I was already seeing the lightning and the Thunder was rolling in. Not to mention if I do it, I will be inspecting it, and any scratches will stick out like a sore thumb. agervating me.

I asked everyone else if their trucks faired as well. It seems they did. They were just all waiting on the rain to wash them off. The rain that NEVER freakin happened. Instead all we got was dirt devils in the yard.

But all in all, we had a really good 4th. BBQ, Apple Pie, watermelon, Family, Fireworks, Freedom and a Freak accident. ALl Typical around here.