NewYear's Eve Backyard Sparklers

Several grass fires (big ones lasting several days over many acres) prompted a burn ban that brought police to the beach to keep anyone from fireworking the beach this year. So I brought sparklers home and the girls had a blast slinging them around the backyard before bed.

I popped some firecrackers in the closed up, dark garage. The girls had to cover their ears as this made firecrackers really loud and bright-but they liked them nonetheless.



I told Gwen to try drawing her name with the sparkler. As she started, Sunny took this pic. It's a million to one, catching a 6yr old doing a "G" with a basic digital camera unrehearsed, and it turned out kick donkey. That's a full-on "G" from Gwen's side. Shortly afterward, the anticipated cold front came thru and I brought Skip the tortoise in from his burrow under the shrubs. When we bought him in 2000, he was the runt the size of a golf ball sitting in a tupperware bowl with his hatchling siblings at a reptile show in Houston. His first home was a shoe box in the window. Now he weighs at least 40 pounds and is clearly unhappy, feeling cramped overnighting the colder weather in our pantry.
Happy new year!!!!!!