Mama's Birthday, Lakity lake lake, and 4th of July Fun

But let me start off with:

my two guys, tommy and loki smith, chillaxing on the couch. who's cuter?

Next, we go to the lake with the Mowrers! I am always excited about going to the lake; it is THE BEST and the Mowrers are THE BEST. Win-win, all around!

mr. smith and i are ready to have some lakey lakey goodness with the mowrers!

If you will recall I recently had a run in with a certain goose and did get a bit on the nervous side when....

this whole flock was totes giving me the stink eye

Fortunately, they passed by in peace. Whew. Moving on to fun:

we did this for two hours which would explain everyone's shoulder burns...

tommy and lottie sue horse around after supper

lottie sue loves her some uncle tommy

Next up, oh boy oh boy oh boy! It's Mama's birthday, and she has the funnest birthday ever in the whole world - the 4th of July! The whole NATION has the day off to celebrate!

First, Dipsey gets in touch with his feminine side and arranges flowers for a centerpiece.

queen anne's lace, daisies (which he always incorrectly remembers as being the flowers my mother carried in their wedding), black eye susans and a gourd grown in the grandchildren's garden. please note how he alters height levels - quite a knack for a novice, i must say. that, or he secretly practices when no one is looking.... dipsey, looks like you've got a future if the writing thing falls off.

Next, I make her a craptastic cake:

apparently cake decorating talents (or lack thereof) runs in the family

Please recall the craptastic cake she made me last year for my birthday:

at least my cake is legible...

Lucy gives me a hand with the candles.

i'll never say how many candles we used... ok, ok - as many as i found in my kitchen drawer.

Lucy is a very efficient candle-placer:

perfect placement

mama raises the roof in her excitement

the ever-helpful children help her open her presents - the bubble wrap was a hit with the three and under crowd (and me)

Then, we go buy fireworks! Who knew the place would be bumping on the 4th of July?

mr. smith is excited to visit the WORLD'S largest fireworks store. that's right, peeps... world's largest right here in east tennessee.

It was bo-nanas inside.

it was a madhouse; don't know why i was surprised...

While shopping, I pick up some cowboy boots! (not at the firework store. at a shoe store, duh...)

i have been looking for cowboy boots forever. i really wanted to get a pair while we were in nashville a few months ago, but they were so expensive! i didn't know how much i'd really wear them, i just think they're cool and wanted a pair. i ran into a reasonable priced pair and now they are MINE. i still don't know how much i'll actually wear them, but the fact that i wore them (and a tutu, ahem.... WHAT? at least i'm not boring...) to clean the house this morning speaks volumes about how much i love my new boots.

Next, we go to Rob Cash's house (ahem... we crash Rob's house... a week ago he was informed we would be crashing his house for the 4th and he was very agreeable to the whole idea. Thanks, Rob and Robby! We had a ball!) to celebrate the holiday! The Cashes roll in STYLE, BTW. They have toys GALORE.

robby displays his talents on stilts

then tommy does

I did learn how to walk on stilts, but there is no photographic evidence to back up my claim. I DID. I mean, I'm not going to Clown College anytime soon or anything, but I can now honestly add 'walk on stilts' to my resume.

There was also this thing. The second I saw it I was intrigued...

yup... it's a bubble.

Upon learning I was ten pounds under the maximum weight limit...

you know it...

Apparently though just because I can fit in a bubble, it doesn't always mean that I can make it work. Gravity is still gravity after all. Kristina was kind enough to give me a hand:

that still doesn't help too much

I know! A hill should help matters! Mass times acceleration squared or some such nonsense.

that does the trick....

we're rolling, we're rolling...

still rolling...

reeeeaaaaallly sorry about that slaw, pasta salad and hot dog rightaboutnow...

but i survive. i even hurled myself down the hill in the bubble a few more times! then i hurled for realzies. (kidding. about the food hurling, not the hill hurling.)

Robby tries to up the ante and walk on sticks IN the bubble.

amanda gives him a hand while rob promises to give him a ride to the hospital

this is somewhat less successful than my bubble down the hill experiment

Next item on the agenda: slip and slide!!! Mama would never let me have one growing up. She was worried about stupid 'injuries' or some such jibber-jabber. MAMA. Everyone was astounded that I'd never been on a slip and slide, and John asked if I ever did slip and slides at frat parties in college to which I replied... .... .... "what the hell are you talking about?"

Turns out, slip and slides are FUN!!!

maiden slip and slide voyage - WHEEE!!!

ki catches air slipping and sliding!

BTW, pitching yourself down a hill (sans the protection of a bubble) is a bit intimidating. Just ask Amanda:

she'd get a running start each time, then stop right there. THEN, and only then, lie down on the slip and slide and go.

slip and slide fun had by all!

Next, firecracker firecracker, boom boom boom! Firecracker firecracker, boom boom boom! If you can place that quote (and sing the rest of the cheer) you have my undying love.

we all get ready to blow some stuff up

Here is rule numero uno when it comes to pyrotechnics:

RRUUUUUUUNNN!!!!

You remember I'm a bit of a pyro, right?

heh, heh... heh, heh... fire is cool

say whaaaa? i ain't no PYRO!

This is sorta what it looked like:

no. not really.

Finally, as you may imagine - such a rough and tumble day did not leave us without injuries:

one cut on my hand from from an ill-time reach out of the bubble, and two from trying to learn how to open a beer bottle with a lighter. (i am a firm believer in continuing education)

grass rash from slip and slide

kristina's grass rash

Fun times despite all injuries! Thank you Mowrers for having us to the lake, thank you Mama for another fun family hour birthday, and thank you Cashes for such a nice time! Good times all (long) weekend long!