Most American 4th of July EVER

We began our 4th of July with lots of girls playing Legos:

I had no idea this many girl-themed Legos existed in the world!

Apparently we decided that today was "Kade takes us on adventures" day.

Stop #1: horses:

I actually have no idea why we saw these horses. 

I don't even know if they are Kade's horses.

But I guess kids like horses, so we stopped to say hello.

And then it was time for ALL OF ELIJAH'S DREAMS TO COME TRUE.

Phase 1: Kade breaks out the GIANT TRACTOR:

I can't even tell which children are inside in this picture, but everyone got a turn!

BEST DAY OF ELIJAH'S LIFE!

Phase 2: Kade whips out the MASSIVE BULLDOZER:

This is Elizabeth and Elijah standing by the blade for some size comparison.

This thing was a BEAST:

Once again, see how small Elizabeth and Jonny look next to it?

Catherine and Avery on the blade:

Catherine and Avery were buddies on this trip.

Catherine slept in Avery's room every night!

Kade's bulldozer, swarming with Bloodlings:

Was I slightly terrified to see my three-year-old on top of said bulldozer?

Yes:

After we removed all the children, Kade started it up for a bit.

It really did feel like a small earthquake when that thing started moving around.

Also, Kade was just as (or possibly more) excited as the kids were to play with all the vehicles.

Kade is the best.

Phase 3: THE EXCAVATOR!

How lucky can a little boy who loves excavators be?

To have an uncle who OWNS one and LETS YOU DRIVE IT?!?

Elijah's life literally cannot get any better than this:

Don't worry, big boys got to drive, too:

Kade had them scooping up gravel and water from the quarry, then flinging it around.

I have zero interest in excavators and I was totally enthralled.

But don't worry, Kade wasn't done yet!

Because Nevada was super dry (as usual, I guess), fireworks were out this year. But Kade had a plan. Kade had two pounds of Tannerite, which is not explosive unless it's hit with a high velocity object. And since Kade happens to own some sweet firearms, we had ourselves a nice 4th of July show!

Jon was ready in case things went poorly:

We did a smaller amount of the Tannerite first, just to gauge what would happen. It was very loud, very impressive. So then we decided to use up all the rest of it for one big finale. Ashley and Elizabeth even prepped some red water, white flour, and blue water to put near the explosives so we'd get a nice, patriotic display. I stayed inside with Elijah and some of the other littles who weren't up for the full effect, but it was still PLENTY loud. Our red, white, and blue explosion mostly just looked like a white flour cloud, but the Tannerite completely demolished the stump piece it was sitting on. There was literally nothing left but small shards. 

For the grand finale, Kade let Seth & Catherine shoot his gun:

Catherine's turn:

Aaron might have been heartbroken when he realized he never got to shoot the gun.

Future activity with Aaron idea...

Thanks for the BEST 4th of July, Kade!